Sailors’ slow start hurts

NEWPORT BEACH — The announcer at Tuesday’s Newport Harbor High baseball game was having trouble pronouncing the name of Edison senior Kyle Higashioka early on.

Eventually, by Higashioka’s third at-bat, the pronunciation coming from the loudspeakers was perfect.

Unfortunately for the Sailors, so was Higashioka’s swing in that same at-bat.

The Cal-bound catcher belted a two-run home run to left, helping the Chargers win the Sunset League battle, 4-2.

Newport Harbor (5-2-1, 1-1 in league) might have been expected to be energized in its first home league game, after winning at Esperanza on Friday. Instead, Edison freshman pitcher Henry Owens retired the first nine Sailors batters he faced, four of them via strikeout.

By the bottom of the fourth, when the Sailors got their first hit on a Kyle Cablay single, the Chargers (4-4, 2-0) already had a 2-0 advantage.

“We always talk about having a strong start to a game,” Newport Harbor Coach Evan Chalmers said. “That’s one thing we need to have in order to be successful ... We just didn’t force their pitcher to do the things that needed to be done. He just gave us the fastball and we couldn’t pick up the velocity. It just goes back to having a strong start and being prepared, knowing that kid is going to be a fastball guy.”

The Sailors battled back in the fourth with a pair of unearned runs. Senior pitcher RJ D’Cruz singled with one out, and advanced to second on a wild pitch.

D’Cruz scored with two outs, when sophomore cleanup hitter Blake Davey reached on a throwing error. After senior Erik Bonn singled to put runners on the corners, a pickoff throw to first got away, allowing pinch-runner Artuto Vazquez to score and tie the score at 2-2.

But Higashioka’s blast came in the top of the fifth, and the Sailors couldn’t recover.

“Those are the things a hitter like him has to do,” Edison Coach Steve Lambright said.

Owens gave way to relief pitcher Kurt Heyer, who pitched a perfect seventh. They did the things a pitcher has to do, not letting a Newport Harbor runner reach second base in the final three innings.

“[Owens] can throw strikes, and if he throws strikes, he gives us a chance to win,” Lambright said. “He’s got good poise, and that’s probably his biggest strength. A freshman pitcher pitching in this league, it’s a hell of an accomplishment.”

Edison leadoff hitter Eric Snyder went four for four and scored twice.

The only other hit the Sailors had was a single by junior Cody Green, leading off the bottom of the fifth.

“We were hoping to come home and have a little home cooking, a little excitement here,” Chalmers said. “We just came out flat today, and against a team like Edison, you’ve got to come ready to play and play the game aggressively. We were just tentative today, and it took a couple of innings and a couple of runs down before we woke up. We’re young, so we’re still learning on the run, but [Edison’s] young too. Their young guys responded in the early innings, and we didn’t wake up until the fourth.”

D’Cruz allowed three earned runs in six innings, striking out five before fellow senior Patrick Brennan came on in the ninth.

Newport Harbor plays host to Fountain Valley on Thursday.

Sunset League

Edison 4, Newport Harbor 2

SCORE BY INNINGS

Owens, Heyer (7) and Higashioka; D’Cruz, Brennan (7) and Bonn. W – Owens, 2-1. L – D’Cruz, 1-1. 2B – Snyder (E), Lesinski (E). HR – Higashioka (E).

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].