AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL WORLD SERIES : Martin Lifts Newbury Oaks in Clutch, 6-5

Trent Martin, mired in a weeklong slump, said there simply was no conceivable scenario in which he would not produce in perhaps the biggest at-bat of his life. Even though the opposition set the stage for failure--and fully anticipated it.

“No way,” Martin said, recapping his internal conversation as he stepped in. “Big mistake. You can’t do that to me.”

But pitchers generally had done whatever they wanted to the Newbury Oaks cleanup hitter this week. Martin was one for 12 in American Legion World Series play as he dug in with the bases loaded and two out in the eighth inning of a tie game Friday night.

What’s more, right-hander Troy Bourgeois had just intentionally walked shortstop David Lamb to get to Martin.

Martin had his way this time, lining what proved to be the game-winning single to left to drive home Ryan Kritscher for a thrilling 6-5 victory over Gonzales, La., (49-11) before 2,510 in an elimination game at Jack Williams Field.

Newbury Oaks (38-3) will face Arlington Heights, Ill., (44-15) at 5 p.m. PDT. Arlington Heights defeated East Hartford, Conn., 5-4, in 10 innings Friday. Arlington Heights, which defeated Newbury Oaks, 8-5, Wednesday, is 3-0 in the Series.

For Martin, the hit was a repeat performance. In the 15th inning of Sunday’s regional final against Las Vegas, Lamb was walked with an open base and Martin delivered a game-winning, two-run double.

This time, though, Martin, the regional most valuable player, came in cold. His bat had been limp all week, but his resolve was stiffened by the walk to Lamb.

“All I said to him was, ‘Vegas,’ ” Coach Chuck Fick said. “He knew exactly what I was talking about.”

Martin’s clutch single capped an uphill climb for Newbury Oaks, which trailed, 5-0, in the second. “This was our greatest team victory,” Fick said. “You’ve gotta have heart, and this team has it.”

It was coronary time in the late innings. With the score tied, 5-5, in the eighth, Newbury Oaks mounted a two-out rally. Kritscher and Robert Fick singled to put runners on the corners, and Gonzales Coach Wade Simoneaux ordered right-hander Troy Bourgeois to walk Lamb, who already had two hits.

The switch-hitting Lamb was six for 12 as he stepped in from the left side, while Martin was practically frozen solid. But Martin was due.

“The law of averages says to pitch to a guy with two hits and don’t pitch to the guy who’s due,” Simoneaux said. “But Troy struggles with left-handers.”

Martin pulled the ball through the left side to give Newbury Oaks its first lead. Now, all sore-armed reliever Jeff Naster had to do was hold the lead.

Naster (3-0), who said earlier in the week that it felt as though a knife was stuck in his ailing right arm, shook off the pain and pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Afterward, Naster said he still felt sore. “Like a needle’s stuck in there,” he said. In the ninth, he had to field a needle of a different sort to preserve the win.

After Naster yielded a leadoff single to Seth Fontenot, Simoneaux elected to let No. 3 hitter Brady Babin swing away. “I know I could have bunted, but Babin’s a better hitter than bunter,” Simoneaux said. “He can hit it out of the park.”

Babin hit a blistering line drive directly at Naster, who instinctively gloved the ball and doubled Fontenot off first base. Teammates were overjoyed. The next batter grounded to short to end the game.

Newbury Oaks nearly checked out early. Starting pitcher Bryant Fick struggled, allowing four runs in 1 2/3 innings before he was relieved by Tighe Curran.

After allowing a run in the second Curran settled down, and by the time he was removed in the sixth, the score was tied, 5-5.

Trailing, 5-0, Newbury Oaks turned a pair of walks and a hit batter into a rally in the second inning. Kritscher and Robert Fick also contributed run-scoring singles to close the gap to 5-3.

Jim Chergey drove in Mike Moore with a grounder to short in the third to pare the deficit to 5-4, and Newbury Oaks tied the score in the fifth when Robert Fick scored on a throwing error.

Three consecutive scoreless innings set the stage for Martin, who hit the first pitch.

“I think (Bourgeois) was probably expecting me to take a strike,” Martin said. “With me being 0 for 4, you’d expect me to be looking.”

Looking good, as it turned out.