Hard-luck Sailors edged by Los Al

NEWPORT BEACH — Once the first run went up on the scoreboard in the fifth inning, the drama began.

For a couple of minutes, the scouts behind the backstop put down their radar guns at Newport Harbor High.

No need to clock Los Alamitos 6-foot-5 senior starter Kyle Simon. The game came to a halt. The only pitches came from each coach, each trying to sell the home plate umpire on the right call.

Newport Harbor’s Evan Chalmers and Los Alamitos’ Mark Clabough argued with the umpire.

They took turns. The Griffins, ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division I, had to wait some time before picking up a 2-0 victory and avoiding being upset in Sunset League action Wednesday.

First Clabough had words with the umpire after the Sailors (5-6-1, 1-3 in league) sent a pinch-hitter toward the plate and then they brought him back, allowing the player on deck to bat.

“Wait a minute,” Clabough said, getting the umpire’s attention.

The umpire almost agreed that it was an illegal move. Then Chalmers strolled toward home plate.

“Wait a minute,” Chalmers said.

The umpire gave him the time to make his case. Chalmers disputed that he never made a move.

“He never stepped in the box,” Chalmers said.

The player who eventually did bat never left the box.

It took six pitches for Simon, the University of Arizona-bound right-hander, to record a strikeout. RJ D’Cruz ran on a sacrifice bunt attempt with two strikes, sliding in safely, a much-needed play against Los Alamitos (12-2, 3-1) with Newport Harbor’s recent offensive woes during its five-game losing streak.

But the umpire again found himself in a tough spot. He called the batter for interference. The batter leaned forward after striking out, getting in the catcher’s way while he threw to second base. D’Cruz was ordered to return to first base.

Again the two coaches quickly voiced their displeasure with the umpire. This time Chalmers came toward him first.

“That’s a terrible call!” said Chalmers, barking at the umpire for a few minutes before retreating to his spot as third-base coach frustrated and his hands tightly gripped on his head.

Clabough came out next, asking why the runner was still in the game.

“I think I’m wrong. I think I’m wrong. I think eventually they got it right,” Clabough said. “I don’t personally think there was interference. But it kind of went in our favor.”

Clabough will gladly take it. Los Alamitos made sure to not waste a standout, two-hit pitching performance.

Simon (4-1) lasted five innings, striking out five and allowing two hits. He kept the Sailors at bay with his four-seam fastball, regularly hitting 90 miles per hour on the three guns pointed at him by the college and pro scouts.

“Kyle got a little tired,” said Clabough, explaining the reason for pulling him in favor of Beau Wright.

Who better than Wright, the left-hander headed to UC Irvine next year? This is the same Wright fresh from throwing a no-hitter against St. Paul of Santa Fe Springs Saturday.

The senior hit one batter, but he got out of the inning by striking out the next two batters with major-league type stuff, a wicked breaking ball and a 90-mph fastball that just caught the outside corner of the plate.

Travis Garrett closed out the game with three strikeouts. The senior froze Newport Harbor batters as they were caught looking each time. As of late, they haven’t been swinging the bats well.

This was the second straight game the Sailors have been blanked. In their last six games they’re averaging less than two runs per game, hurting D’Cruz’s chances of winning games.

The ace delivered his third complete game of the season, but the senior has only one win to show. D’Cruz (1-3) struck out six, allowed three hits and only one earned run, a home run to Brian Tripp in the fifth, the other run was scored on a passed ball in the sixth.

Clabough praised D’Cruz, especially after he kept the Sailors in the game, something they weren’t able to do much of last season against the Griffins. Los Alamitos went 3-0 against the Sailors, outscoring them, 39-18.

“We’ve been having trouble hitting the ball,” said D’Cruz for the reason behind the team’s ten strikeouts. “We were just trying to jump on the fastball. We knew it was going to come. We just didn’t get our bats around to do it.”

Sunset League

Los Alamitos 2, Newport Harbor 0

SCORE BY INNINGS

Simon, Wright (6), Garrett (7) and B. Compton; D’Cruz and Bonn. W – Simon, 4-1. L – D’Cruz, 1-3. HR – Tripp (LA).

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].