High School Baseball: Marina edges Newport Harbor in extra innings

ANAHEIM — Newport Harbor High played at Angel Stadium on Tuesday and it wound up playing the length of a Major League Baseball game.

The Sailors and Marina played under the lights at the Big A because it took nine innings to decide the winner of the Sunset League contest. At the end, the Sailors putting a runner on first base a dozen times via a walk or by hitting a batter eventually caught up to them.

The Vikings drew a leadoff walk in the top of the ninth and scored the go-ahead run on a double by Joseph Waked. Tyler Mathews singled in another run to help Marina take the extra-inning affair, 4-2.

After the 3-hour, 11-minute ballgame, all Newport Harbor Coach Evan Chalmers could think about were the 10 walks issued by his three pitchers.

“[Five] innings we [allowed] a leadoff walk, two hit by pitch,” said Chalmers, whose team saw Marina capitalize on getting the first batter on three times, seeing him score in the second, sixth and ninth innings. “We made some double plays and some really key strikeouts [to get out of bases-loaded jams in the second, fifth and seventh innings, and with two runners in scoring position in the fourth].

“We got a very good pitching effort [from starter Liam Ogburn, who gave up one run and four hits in 4 1/3 innings], but like I said in a close game, those early walks really make it difficult [to win].”

Connor McCollum also played a major role in keeping Marina undefeated in league through two games and the Sailors winless in league. The right-hander didn’t go the distance, but he went eight innings, striking out 10, while allowing only three hits during his impressive start.

McCollum (2-1) earned the win, throwing 128 pitches, 88 for strikes. Despite the performance, which featured a lot of fastballs, the San Diego State-bound senior trailed from the start until the top of the sixth.

A leadoff single by Jeremiah Sheldon, followed by an error, then a suicide squeeze by Jake Genova, a walk to Sean Korkmaz, and Christian Watson beating out a double play put the Sailors ahead, 2-0, in the bottom of the first inning. From then on, Newport Harbor (6-5 overall) only got two more hits off McCollum, who retired the side in order in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. During the 1-2-3 innings, McCollum fanned seven of the 12 batters he faced.

All that was missing was the run support for McCollum. The Vikings (6-5) had a plethora of chances, getting the leadoff batter on in the first, second, third and sixth innings. In the sixth, when reliever Luke Genova hit Tyler Abend, Marina took advantage for the first time since the second inning. The Vikings moved Abend over to second on a sacrifice bunt by Danny Jasperson and to third on a sacrifice fly to right field by Griffin Hennessey. The play to get Abend to third was close. Rigsby Duncan appeared to throw out Abend, but he slid in safely before third baseman Alex Lee applied the tag.

Chalmers came out of the dugout and argued the call to no avail. Four pitches later, Will Pingle, who finished two for four, went the other way to left field, driving in Abend to tie the game at 2-2.

Marina looked like it was going to break the game open in the seventh inning. Jonah Dipoto, the son of Angels General Manager Jerry Dipoto, entered, and he walked three of the first five batters he saw. The right-hander is used to attending games at Angel Stadium, pitching inside of it was a different story.

“All the guys were nervous,” Chalmers said. “I think just playing in this environment is pretty difficult for a young kid. We were all nervous, even the coaches. It’s very exciting, a breathtaking environment for a baseball player or coach. [It’s] really a special thing to be able to play here.”

Dipoto gave the Sailors two more innings to play at Angel Stadium. With the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh, he struck out pinch-hitter Max Ronquillo.

The only problem for the Sailors was that McCollum came back out for the bottom half of the seventh. With his pitch count at 94, he needed 15 pitches to get through the inning.

Marina was unable to do anything after Dipoto’s fourth walk, coming in the eighth. McCollum returned to the mound for the bottom half of the eighth, and Logan Mahaffy led off with single up the middle, producing the Sailors’ first hit since a third-inning double by Korkmaz.

Jake Genova’s sacrifice bunt put Mahaffy in scoring position. After McCollum walked Luke Genova, McCollum’s fourth walk of the game, he plunked his first batter in Watson. Newport Harbor had the bases loaded and with two down.

McCollum almost hurt himself again after Keith Marshall’s grounder to first baseman Steven Stafford was bobbled by Stafford. Seeing that McCollum didn’t race toward the first-base bag, Stafford dove toward the bag, touching it with the ball in his glove for the third out.

“That was one of those things where Connor should’ve been over there,” Marina Coach Robert Marshall said. “He knows. He kind of fell asleep.”

Marina woke up in the top of the ninth. Dipoto’s fifth walk came back to burn Dipoto (1-2). Waked, who went two for three, picked up Chase Sebby with a shot in the gap toward right-center field to give the Vikings a 3-2 lead. Mathews, a pinch-hitter, knocked in the second run with a single to center.

Before McCollum’s night was over, he talked to Riley Ohl, the pitcher who was coming in to close things out in the ninth. The right-hander induced a groundout right away, but Josh Spicer’s pinch-hit single put the tying run at the plate. Spicer found his way to third base after two wild pitches. Sheldon joined Spicer on the base pads, making it as far as second base after a steal.

With runners in scoring position, Jake Genova hit a grounder to Stafford. The first baseman didn’t need the pitcher to cover the bag. The junior ran over there and stepped on it for the final out.

“I told you we’re going to be like that all year, we’re evenly matched,” Marshall told Chalmers afterward. “Evan does a great job with those guys. We left a total of 15 guys on base.

“We didn’t get [as] far [as] Edison and Huntington Beach went [in their Sunset League game at Angel Stadium on Thursday night]. They went [12 innings], longer than us.”

—

Sunset League

Marina 4, Newport Harbor 2

SCORE BY INNING

Marina 010 001 002 – 4 8 2

Newport 200 000 000 – 2 4 1

McCollum, Ohl (9) and Sebby; Ogburn, L. Genova (5), Dipoto (7), Spicer (9) and Korkmaz. W – McCollum, 2-1. L – Dipoto, 1-2. 2B – Waked (M), Korkmaz (NH).