Baseball: Newbury Park upsets No. 2-seeded Mater Dei
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Newbury Park (20-7) became the second surprise finalist to reach the Southern Section Division 1 championship game, taking advantage of a five-run first inning and making it stand up in a 5-3 victory over No. 2-seeded Santa Ana Mater Dei on Tuesday night at Blair Field.
Matt Haskins threw five innings for the Panthers. Ace Luke Eubank entered in the sixth. In the seventh, he struck out Ryan Barr on a three-and-two count with two runners on to end the game.
Newbury Park fell behind, 2-0, in the first inning, but then scored five runs in its first turn at the plate, helped by three walks and two Mater Dei errors. Sophomore Zander Clarke had a two-run double in the inning.
Chase Radan pitched well for Mater Dei (24-6) after replacing Davis Tominaga in the first inning. He struck out seven in 4 1/3 innings.
Friday’s 7:30 p.m. championship game will match Corona, the fifth-place finisher from the Big VIII League, against Newbury Park, the second-place finisher from the Marmonte League.
-- Eric Sondheimer