By Kyle Nguyen and Yasir Khaleq, Staff Writers
A solid performance from Justin Yang (‘17) and late heroics from first baseman Riley Hanson (‘16) allowed the Barons to take advantage of Newport Harbor’s fatal mistakes and poor pitching in a nail-biting comeback win.
The Barons played against Newport Harbor on Friday, scoring the first run of the game in the 2nd inning when Yang smashed a double hit to center field to bring Mike Murphy (’16) in to score. This was the first of Yang’s three hits in the game, signifying a remarkable performance for the short stop and closing pitcher. Yang managed to get on base all four times he stepped up to the plate and threw three strikeouts later on to close out the game and secure the win for the Barons.
It didn’t always look like that would be the case, however. After that first run, Newport and Fountain Valley traded runs until the fifth inning. With the score tied at three, a Newport Harbor player hit a three run homer off of starting pitcher Travis Burleson (’17) to make the score 6-3, and seemingly deflate the morale of the players.
However, this group of players didn’t let that bog them down.
“We didn’t quit. Yesterday we had a long team meeting. We had a chance to say a lot of things and get a lot of things off of our chest, because our season hasn’t been going very well. We’ve been up and down. We talked about working hard and staying together and believing in one another,” said Head Varsity Coach, Deric Yanisigawa.
A quiet sixth inning passed (Newport scored one run off of a walk), and the Barons rallied with force in the seventh inning. With the previous night’s team meeting surely in mind, Yang started the comeback with a solid base hit. Travis Aversa (’17) then hit a line drive to the fence to get himself to second base and allow Yang to score. Justin Mazzone (’17), Wyatt McGinnis (’16), and Trent Sievers (’17) all went on to hit runs batted in (RBI) to tie the game up at seven. Every run resulted from an error from a Newport outfielder, and every hit was off of a poor performance from Newport’s closer. This would end up being Newport’s downfall. Yang’s pitching and the Barons’ overall defensive play forced the game into extra innings.
After a scoreless eighth inning, Fountain Valley had all of the momentum going into the ninth.
“The turning point was getting our lead off hitter on in the last inning and we forced rallies. We kept the ball every inning, we forced Newport into making mistakes. We were fortunate enough to catch a few breaks. Our guys did a good job of hitting the ball hard and they didn’t give up. These young men deserve a lot of credit. It’s tough to come back from a three run deficit in the seventh inning,” said Yanasigawa.
The Barons exploded in the ninth inning. Michael Murphy (’16) and Yang both got on base after two solid hits to right field. This set up Hanson for the play of the game, when he crushed a three run homer over the center field fence. All the Barons had to do was play defense from there, and Yang ended the game with two strikeouts to give the Barons a 10-7 comeback win over the Sailors.
“We stayed in [the game] and fought till the end. We learned not to give up and we’re going to get to CIF hopefully,” said Hanson, the home run hero.
This game was extremely symbolic of the Barons’ season, who have often showed great heart through many highs and many lows.
“[The players] learned not to quit. I think it’s extremely important not to quit. Every single team in this league is very good. You have to play your best. Newport Harbor is no exception. I think what we take from this is that it’s a team game and we have to continue to stick together no matter what,” said Yanasigawa.
