AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL SOUTHWEST REGIONAL : Newbury Oaks Bounces Back Behind Strong Pitching, 5-1

The after-effects of seeing a 32-game winning streak come to a screeching halt were still visible a day later.

Too drained, one player said. Emotionally exhausted, said another. In short, as wrung out as a sweat-soaked shirt, with 100-degree temperatures playing a large role.

On Friday afternoon, Newbury Oaks brought in air conditioners in the form of Jeff Naster and Bryant Fick, who pitched Newbury Oaks to a 5-1 victory over Boulder, Colo., in an elimination game of the American Legion Southwest regional at Cashman Field.

Naster, a right-handed ringer of sorts who played most of the summer in the Arizona Collegiate League and joined the team in time to play in the Area 6 tournament, struck out nine in seven dominating innings. Fick, a left-hander, struck out four in two innings of relief.

And because of that, Newbury Oaks can still whiff the scent of a possible World Series berth.

Despite another rather sluggish day at the plate, Newbury Oaks (33-2) lives to play another day--in this case, tonight at 7 against Utah in another elimination game at Cashman Field.

“Everybody was really disappointed that we lost,” said outfielder Jim Chergey, who had three hits and scored two runs Friday. “It took us a few innings to get going.”

Indeed, the going was tough early on when Newbury Oaks seemed stuck in the same catatonic state that led to a 4-2 loss to Las Vegas, the team’s first loss since the season opener. A two-hour team meeting held immediately before Thursday’s loss to air various player gripes didn’t exactly foster a wellspring of enthusiasm.

Newbury Oaks took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a single to left by Mike Moore that drove in Robert Fick. Still, there seemed to be cobwebs.

Except in Naster’s right arm, that is. Making his first start for Newbury Oaks, Naster (1-0) threw BBs by Boulder. If the team had the snap of his slider, it might have been a rout.

“We didn’t snap out of it until the fifth inning or so,” Naster said as he gazed at the scoreboard. “And maybe not until the seventh.”

With Naster and Chergey at second and third in the fifth, Ryan Kritscher ripped a one-out single to left to give Newbury Oaks a 3-0 lead. The dugout mood then seemed to brighten.

“We started off a little tired,” Kritscher said. “We were a little tired, a little exhausted from the loss. We needed a little something to get us going.”

A little soon led to more.

Leading, 3-1, in the seventh, Newbury Oaks scored twice on a run-scoring double by Kritscher and a single by David Lamb. It was enough for Naster, who had pitched out of a largely self-inflicted mess in the sixth.

Boulder (31-23) mounted a threat in that inning with an infield single and a double that was misjudged by Moore in left field. With one out, Naster tried to pick off the runner at second, but his throw went into center, allowing Boulder’s lone run to score.

“My fault and my fault alone,” Naster said. “I thought we had him picked, but I threw a screwball.”

Naster put the screws to Boulder thereafter, though he took his time in doing so. He walked a batter and hit another to load the bases but escaped the jam with a strikeout and a fly-ball out.

Chergey, who entered the game as the coldest batter in the Newbury Oaks lineup, was the catalyst. After going one for 10 in the first two tournament games, Chergey was moved from sixth to ninth in the batting order.

He responded, as much out of self-preservation as anything, by sparking the two-run rallies in the fifth and seventh with singles.

“I wanted to stay in the No. 6 spot, but I’ve been playing so poorly,” Chergey said. “I’m just glad to be starting. The last couple of days, I’ve been sneaking up to (take a look at the) lineup to see if I’m still in there.”

He is, and his teammates are hanging in there too.