Newport Beach PONY advances to district championship game

A return to the baseball diamond on the first day of summer saw many of the same faces continuing their journey together.

The Newport Beach 11-and-under All-Star team started a lineup that was nearly identical to the one that made it to the Central Region championship game as 10-year-olds last year.

Newport Beach has a chance to return to regionals again, as the local Tridents defeated the Dana Point All-Stars 15-4 in their opening game of the PONY Bronco 11-and-under district tournament on Thursday at Bonita Canyon Sports Park.

The Tridents await the winner of Friday’s semifinal, which will feature Newport Harbor versus Placentia at 5 p.m. Newport Beach will face the winner in Saturday’s district championship game at 12:30 p.m. A trip to the regional tournament will be on the line.

Second baseman Jackson McDonald, one of numerous familiar faces on the Newport Beach squad, said that he hopes that his team gets to square off with Newport Harbor. The Tridents are billing the matchup as a pre-high school version of the Battle of the Bay.

Asked how much he is looking forward to a possible rematch with Newport Harbor, McDonald said, “A lot because we lost by one,” referencing an earlier extra-inning defeat against their in-city rivals.

McDonald had a team-high three hits with two runs batted in to lead the Tridents’ offense. His triple down the first-base line scored a run, capping a three-run third inning to give Newport Beach a 3-0 lead.

“I just wanted to keep my weight back and shoot it the other way,” McDonald said, calling the extra-base hit his favorite highlight of the game.

McDonald also had a pair of infield hits, including a lined shot on which Dana Point pitcher Luca Funari managed to get his glove up as a matter of self-preservation. Funari would stay in the game after receiving a round of applause from the crowd.

Dana Point cut its deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the third. Christian LaMothe struck a double to deep right field to score the second run, a significant display of power after new bats were mandated.

“You have to try to get it in the center or the sweet spot,” Tridents’ third baseman Matthew Melton said of hitting with the deadened bats.

Melton had an idea or two about hitting the baseball. Newport Beach did not score in the first two innings, as the Tridents attempted to figure out the soft-tossing pitchers from Dana Point.

In the fourth inning, Melton led off with a well-hit double to the gap in left-center. His teammates seemed to follow his example, as Newport Beach scored five runs on six hits to open up an 8-2 advantage.

“My dad always tells me to put weight on your back foot, get your foot into it, and then it will go,” Melton said. “Sometimes, I swing with all arms, and that time, I actually put my weight into it. It’s good when you do that.”

Jamey Ott earned the win, allowing just two unearned runs in 2 2/3 innings. Brady Gadol struck out a pair in a scoreless fifth, and Will Chavez stranded a lead-off single by Funari to close out the game.

On the second batter of the game, Ott retired Blake Vaccaro with style points. Vaccaro’s ground ball went off the first-base bag. Ott followed the play to the bag, and he was able to scoop the ball up and flip it to Brady Andrews with his glove for the out.

Gadol matched McDonald with a game-high two RBIs. Andrew Niccol and Andrews had two hits apiece. Brady Annett, Ganon Overfelt and Andrews each had a run-scoring single.

Funari paced Dana Point with two hits. Brennan Miller-Jones, Vaccaro and LaMothe all drove in a run.

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