Bronco A all-stars hit end of road

Through four innings, it looked as though Newport Harbor Baseball

Association’s Bronco A all-stars were well on their way to spinning

another upset and advancing in the South Region tournament Saturday

at Chino Hills Community Park.

But the team, made up of 11- and 12-year-olds, ran out of gas and

the pitching it needed for the victory, falling 12-4 to the

tournament’s No. 1 seed from San Diego Mira Mesa. The loss ended the

longest postseason run by a Bronco A all-star team in the history of

the Newport Harbor Baseball Association.

After an opening-round win against Fontana, Newport dropped a 3-2

contest Friday to fall into the loser’s bracket. It needed five

straight wins to reach the zone tournament, which is the final step

before the world series.

It looked like the first of those five wins was a possibility when

Newport jumped out to a 4-1 lead over Mira Mesa after four innings.

But Danny Moskovits had to be removed from the mound because he had

reached his innings limit and the floodgates then opened for Mira

Mesa.

Moskovits limited Mira Mesa to two hits and struck out five in his

four innings of work. He also collected three hits, including a

double, and scored a run.

But as Mira Mesa began scoring runs, and doing so in bunches, it

became apparent that Moskovits’ strong work wasn’t going to be

enough.

The end of the road came despite a 2-for-3 performance by Ryan

Albert, including his second home run in as many days. He finished

with a pair of RBIs. Nick Svendsen added a hit and a run scored.

Catcher Adrian Rodriguez drove in a run.