AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL SOUTHWEST REGIONAL TOURNAMENT : Voracious Newbury Oaks Devours Tucson, 18-5

It was a fairly busy day for the fair-haired boys of the Newbury Oaks baseball team.

Left-hander Tighe Curran, the pitcher in Newbury Oaks’ all-redhead battery Wednesday, was conked in the noggin by a pitch in the second inning. That pain was nothing compared to the gastrointestinal misery inflicted by the mystery-meat enchiladas he ate for lunch, however.

“I got hit in the head and it didn’t even hurt,” Curran said. “I’ve never felt this bad in my life.”

Curran was so nauseated that he was removed after three innings. Not to worry, though, because his batterymate was ravenous.

Catcher Robert Fick had four hits, including three doubles, and drove in four runs as Newbury Oaks blasted Tucson, 18-5, in the first round of the American Legion Southwest regional at Cashman Field.

Newbury Oaks, which has won 32 games in a row, will face Las Vegas tonight at 7 at Cashman Field. Las Vegas defeated Albuquerque in another first-round game.

Newbury Oaks (32-1) scored in each of the first seven innings, sparked by the freckled fingers of Fick, who stuck a fork in Tucson (27-6) with a load of fours: Fick had four hits in four at-bats and picked up his RBIs in the first four innings. “The kids are hungry,” said Coach Chuck Fick, Robert’s brother. “You’re a lot more attentive to things when you’re hungry.”

The victuals were good for all but Curran, who didn’t feel like wolfing down much of anything when the game started.

An upset stomach was compounded by the headache he suffered after he was hit in the batting helmet with a pitch. Curran got woozy, and teammates first thought he might have been seriously injured, even though he pitched another inning.

“They were all, ‘Oh, he’s got a concussion,’ ” said Curran, who felt better by game’s end and is expected to be available today. “I’m not sure what was wrong. It might have been the surprise enchilada wraps I ate for lunch.”

If not the heat, the result of a searing sun and a torrid Newbury Oaks offense (17 hits). “The heat was tough,” Robert Fick said. “It really bothers me because I’m a redhead.”

Fick turned heads early with a red-hot opening to kick-start the offense. Fick doubled in the first, third and fourth innings as Newbury Oaks took a 13-3 lead.

Left-hander Adam West (11-1) relieved Curran to open the fourth and allowed one earned run over three innings. Right-hander Craig Arnold pitched three scoreless innings to earn a cakewalk save.

How bad could it have been? Newbury Oaks stranded 14 runners. Even the substitutes got their hacks. West had two hits off the bench, including a two-run home run. Three Tucson pitchers didn’t help themselves by hitting five batters.

David Lamb was three for three and Ryan Kritscher, Trent Martin and Jamal Nichols each added two hits for Newbury Oaks. Lamb is 26 for 41 in three postseason Legion tournaments. In short, status quo.

But one recent trend was reversed with a vengeance. Newbury Oaks has become so accustomed to routs that concern was expressed because the team had scored “only” seven and nine runs in its past two tournament openers. “We’ve been getting off to a slow start in the first games,” Robert Fick said. “Everybody just wanted it today.”