Prevel-led CMNLL forces finale

WESTMINSTER — After abandoning his windup last fall, Noah Prevel has found it much easier to avoid getting, well, wound up on the mound these days.

And it was the lanky right-hander’s ability to retain his poise that helped Costa Mesa National Little League claim a 6-5 victory over Huntington Valley Wednesday to force a deciding game today in the 10- and 11-year-old division of the District 62 All-Star Tournament at Johnson School.

Prevel mixed an often overpowering fastball with a almost comically slow curveball to record nine strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. But at least an equally important weapon for him on the bump was his poise.

“He doesn’t get rattled,” Costa Mesa National Manager Mike McClanahan said of his starting pitcher, who consistently wriggled out of jams to help his team avenge a 5-3 loss to Huntington Valley on July 1 that bumped Costa Mesa into the loser’s bracket of the double-elimination event.

“He has a good mind for pitching and he keeps his composure. When you’re on the mound, you can’t get rattled when things go bad.”

Things never went bad for long for Prevel, who was also three for three at the plate to pace the winners’ nine-hit attack. Prevel said he’s now seven for eight in the tournament, a blistering .875 batting average.

He allowed only four hits, but walked six and hit a batter, before reaching his pitch limit — dictated by Little League rules — with one out in the fifth.

What’s more, he allowed the first hitter to reach base in each of his first four innings, including two walks and the aforementioned hit batsman.

But only two of those runners scored and his ability to bear down, as well as a strong defense behind him, helped protect a lead that arose from a four-run Costa Mesa first inning.

The first four Huntington Valley batters reached base in the fourth, but the designated visitors failed to plate any of them, as Costa Mesa held its 4-3 advantage.

Catcher Cole Norris then sparked a two-run Costa Mesa fourth with a home run to start the frame.

Josh Spicer came on in relief of Prevel and got the final five outs, though Huntington Valley produced four hits and two runs to add to the drama.

Today’s winner in the third meeting of the tournament between the two teams, will claim the District 62 title and advance to the sectional tournament.

Prevel said pitching exclusively from the stretch was McClanahan’s idea, conceived during the fall travel ball season, during which McClanahan is the head coach for the Costa Mesa Crushers.

“For kids [this age], I like them to pitch from the stretch for balance reasons,” McClanahan said. “When kids start to get haywire with their pitches, I like to get them into the stretch. It gets them back to the basics of pitching. And, I think it creates more accuracy and I like that.”

Prevel, whose powerful, angular body can clearly create some mechanical issues not faced by smaller players — as evidenced by his first pitch of the game, which sailed well wide of the catcher and bonked loudly against the wooden backstop — said he is more comfortable pitching from the stretch.

“I think it really helps my control,” said Prevel, who also kept control of his emotions after struggling to settle in too early in each inning.

“I try harder when I get in a little bit of a [jam],” Prevel said.

A double by Elijah Reiland drove in the first Costa Mesa run. A triple by Mason Tufuga drove in two more and Tufuga scored on an RBI single by Connor Brown to create the early cushion.

Three Huntington Valley errors helped create five unearned runs, but Costa Mesa made its only error in the sixth.

Costa Mesa, in fact, made several strong defensive plays, including outfield assists by Reiland in center and Brad Ehrhorn in left.

Ehrhorn and Michael McClanahan added singles for Costa Mesa, which has bonded by playing as a unit on the aforementioned travel ball team.

Jason Panella scored a run for the winners.

Newport Beach stays alive

 Submitted by Mary Pat Hastings

The Newport Beach Little League All-Stars of 12-year-olds continued their hot play in the District 55 All-Star tournament with another no-hit shutout Wednesday, following Monday’s perfect game shutout of Laguna Beach.

Cameron Hook and Ben Humphreys combined for the no-hitter with Hook striking out four in three innings and Humpheys notching two strikeouts in his inning of relief.

Offensively the NBLL squad got off to a quick start in the top of the first after a leadoff double by Chad Redfearn, an RBI single by Humphreys and a two-run homer by Parker Reposa staking Hook a 3-0 lead. In the second inning three singles by Hook, Will Hinkelman and Logan Miller were followed by a three-run blast by Humphreys to clear the bases. The offense continued in the third when NBLL sent 11 batters to the plate scoring eight runs. Reposa hit his second home run and Ryan Maister collected two doubles in the inning. With the score at 15-0 the game ended in the fourth inning via the mercy rule.

NBLL is back in action Thursday against Rancho Niguel at 7:30 p.m. at Lincoln Elementary.

NHBA captures opener

The fireworks were still going off on Sunday as the Newport Harbor 11- and 12-year-old Bronco All-Stars exploded for an 18-1 win over the Irvine Bronco Blue team in their district opener at Hicks Canyon in Irvine.

Starting pitcher Keaton Cablay and relievers Garrett Davis and Blake Bauer allowed Irvine only one run. The pitching staff was given ample run support by a Newport offense that gathered 13 hits including home runs by Steven Faulconer and Teddy Stuka. Caleb O’Neil added 2 hits for Newport.