Youth Scene: NHBA 10U All-Stars still alive
The Newport Harbor Baseball Assn. Mustang 10U All-Stars went into their Saturday afternoon game against Fountain Valley No. 2 needing a win to stay alive in the Pony Mustang Southern California Regional Tournament. They did just that beating Fountain Valley, 13-5, to stave off elimination.
The NHBA All-Stars will go up against the Anaheim 10U team Sunday at noon at Bob Henry Park in Newport Beach.
After starter Simon Copeman held Fountain Valley scoreless in the top of the first inning, NHBA scored five runs in the bottom of the frame led by a two-run single by Braham Duncan, a two-run double by Trey Genova and a sacrifice fly by Luke Bashore.
In the bottom of the second, Fountain Valley roared back with five runs to tie the score. NHBA got one run back in the bottom of the second to stake a lead that it would never surrender. Duncan pitched the third and the fourth allowing only one hit, while striking out three and Jarrett Thompson closed out the fifth and the sixth also allowing just one hit.
Luke Hatfield’s RBI single in the third put Newport up, 7-5. In the fourth, Newport added four more runs – two of them coming off a monstrous home run by Johnny Brigandi over the center-field fence. Bashore and Kyle Binford produced RBI base hits to account for the other two runs. Newport added two more runs in the fifth to make the final, 13-5. Brigandi finished the game with five RBIs and lead-off man Jack Bibb collected two hits and scored four runs.
Over the last seven weeks, the NHBA All-Stars have posted a 16-8 tournament record. At this point though, nothing matters outside of one baseball game that will take place at Bob Henry Park Sunday at noon.
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TH Hoops steps up
The TH Hoops sixth-grade club team took Las Vegas by storm with a 3-1 record in the recent Summer Vegas Prep tournament.
TH Hoops stayed focused and determined. The boys played with their best team effort of the year. Key players included, Ian Robbs, Ben Swanson, Brandon Hicks, Jacob Humbert, Cameron Jones, Sam Parhamfar, Parsa Tafazoli, Pasha Dastmalchi and Levi Fernandez.
TH Hoops was led by Coach Danny Thomas.
The team includes players from Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.
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Softball team had big year
The Newport Mesa Girls’ Softball 8U All-Star team had an outstanding season, winning the San Juan Capistrano Classic in May, placing second in the Santa Paula Tournament in June and collecting bronze medals for placing third in the Southern California American Softball Assn. District Championship.
The team fell one run short of moving on to the state tournament, losing to a strong Manhattan Beach team, 7-6. The Newport Mesa All-Star team was assembled of the best players from the Costa Mesa and Newport Beach area.
This year’s team featured both strong pitching from Katie Metcalf and Lindsey Blanchfield and a strong infield composed of Rachel Blair at third, Lily Larkins at shortstop, Anika Ewert at second and Kyra Slutzky at catcher. The entire team batted very well with outfielders Makena Tomlinson and Eliana Gottlieb standing out. The team also included Sydney Walls, Lena De La O, Jennifer Cullen, Kylee Pim, Sophia Stark and Ivy Hollander.
The Newport-Mesa Girls Softball league is currently forming teams for 2012 Fall Ball. Information can be found at https://www.newportmesasoftball.com.
— Reader submission