D’Cruz steady, as Sailors pound away

NEWPORT BEACH — On the very first pitch of the game, Northwood High leadoff hitter Ben Owens lined a double to deep right.

Good thing that Newport Harbor pitcher RJ D’Cruz got that out of his system early. It was the only time that he would be hit hard all day.

D’Cruz allowed no earned runs in seven innings as the Sailors topped Northwood, 7-1, in the opening round of the Beach Pit Classic on Saturday at Newport Harbor High.

The Sailors (4-10), the defending tournament champions, move on to play Long Beach Jordan in a quarterfinal game on Monday at 11 a.m., also at Newport Harbor.

D’Cruz, a junior, gave up just four hits against Northwood, walking three and striking out six — including the side in the final frame.

“We kept their No. 1 [Owens] and No. 3 [Jourdan Watanabe] off balance,” Newport Harbor Coach Evan Chalmers said. “Those are their two best players. [D’Cruz] pitched a good tempo, and we played defense behind him.”

He allowed just one unearned run in the first inning. With Owens at third base and two outs, a fielding error on an infield grounder allowed Northwood (4-10) to take the early lead. But D’Cruz didn’t have to worry, because his teammates had his back with the bats.

Senior leadoff hitter Jarrett Daniel was three for four with a double, a home run and three RBIs, upping his batting average to an even .400 (18 for 45). Junior Erik Bonn, who normally hits further down in the order, went three for four with a double and two RBIs in the No. 2 spot Saturday.

And even the bottom of the lineup produced. The Tars’ No. 7 through No. 9 hitters, Nick Svendsen, Brice Stillman and Ben Frazier, reached base two times each and scored four of Newport Harbor’s seven runs.

“The bottom of the lineup was what kept us going,” Daniel said. “They stepped up and got some hits, too. That made the difference in the game, and R.J. just pitched a flawless game.”

The Tars pounded out five hits in the third inning to score three times, and three stolen bases in the next inning helped them get runners in position to score three more runs.

Newport Harbor had five steals against Northwood starting pitcher Matt Munson and reliever Ryan Burt.

D’Cruz (2-4) said it’s probably the best game he’s pitched all season, next to a tough 1-0 loss at La Serna on March 8. But the Sailors, who had only scored more than three runs once in the previous nine games, had the run support this time.

“When they start producing and they make some plays behind you, there’s nothing better,” D’Cruz said. “You can go out and throw pitches and let them hit the ball, knowing that we’ve still got seven runs up on the board. That’s always a big benefit.”

Daniel provided the exclamation point, hitting a two-out, 0-and-1 pitch in the sixth over the left-field wall.

For Chalmers and the Sailors, the win was a welcome change from a tough Sunset League schedule. But he was just as happy with the Newport Harbor defense, which committed just the one error all game.

“We’ve had some difficulties defensively in league,” Chalmers said. “That’s definitely our goal, to eliminate the defensive mistakes. We’re hoping we face some pitchers where we can get back on track offensively as well, and score more than one or two runs a game.”

When asked about wanting to defend the Sailors’ Beach Pit Classic championship, D’Cruz laughed.

“I guess you have to say that, but you don’t really think of it,” he said. “We’re just trying to win as much as possible and play hard.”

Beach Pit ClassicFirst round

Newport Harbor 7,

Northwood 1

Score by Innings

North. 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 4 2

Newport 0 0 3 3 0 1 x - 7 10 1

Munson, Burt (5) and Watanabe; D’Cruz and Levy. W -- D’Cruz, 2-4. L -- Munson, 0-2. 2B -- Daniel (NH), Bonn (NH). HR -- Daniel (NH).