SAN CLEMENTE — Newport Harbor’s baseball team relied on major contributions from the bottom of its lineup to beat San Clemente 7-3 Tuesday in a Loara Tournament game at San Clemente High.
Six of Newport Harbor’s eight hits came from the six through nine spots in the batting order and those players combined for five RBIs.
“In high school baseball if you can have good hitters after your first four or five, you’re in really good shape,” Newport Harbor coach Josh Lee said. “I thought our six through nine hitters did a really good job today, working at-bats and turning the lineup back over. To put up seven runs when your top three hitters aren’t what they normally are is a good sign.”
Newport Harbor (4-0) took the lead and gave itself some breathing room in the sixth inning.
The Sailors loaded the bases after two batters were hit by pitches with a single in between them. Lee used Cameron Hatfield as a pinch hitter in the ninth spot in the lineup and he hit a single to give the Sailors a 3-2 lead.
Hatfield is typically in the starting lineup and had some big hits as a sophomore last season, but he was not in the starting lineup Tuesday. He had gone hitless in his first eight at-bats this season.
“We know what he can do and he’s a really good player,” Lee said. “He came in at the right situation and absolutely laced that ball. I trust him. As a sophomore he was in big moments against teams like Huntington Beach. Even though in the first couple of games he wasn’t delivering, it was always the thought that he was going to deliver.”
Newport Harbor, which was No. 8 in the Orange County preseason Top 10, added two more runs in the sixth when Cal signee Ryan Williams drew a bases-loaded walk and Max Hamrock scored on a passed ball.
In the seventh inning, Newport Harbor extended its lead with a two-run home run by catcher Brooks Francis. It was his first home run at the varsity level and the first for the Sailors as a team this season.
“It felt great,” Francis said. “I’ve been putting the work in and it felt good to see the payoff there.”
Noah Whittaker allowed one run in three innings of relief to earn the win for Newport Harbor.
He was able to finish the game without Lee having to dig deeper into his bullpen.
Newport Harbor had played 19 innings in a doubleheader Saturday and played eight innings Monday in a win over Woodlands Christian.
“He hasn’t been one of our first five or six guys in the rotation, but I trust him to throw strikes,” Lee said of Whittaker. “He knows our plan of attack and he did a good job. He’s a competitor.”
San Clemente (1-1) got a strong starting pitching performance from junior Landon Wargnier in his first varsity start. Wargnier, who got the save in San Clemente’s season-opening win over Capistrano Valley Christian, allowed zero earned runs in four innings with just three hits allowed.
Dax Conrad had three hits and drove in two runs for the Tritons. Jake Starling had two hits and scored two runs.
Conrad and returning all-league left fielder Kai Cesare had diving catches that saved multiple runs for San Clemente.
Hamrock hit a two-run single for the Sailors in the fourth inning to tie the game at 2-2.
Lee is happy the Sailors are off to a 4-0 start but believes the team is playing nowhere near expectations.
“We have a few guys that are proven and we have a lot of guys that haven’t been tested and we have a ways to go,” Lee said. “I’m just looking forward to seeing these kids become what they can be because we don’t even pass the sniff test right now.”
Newport Harbor plays Foothill in a Loara Tournament game Friday. San Clemente will play Colony of Ontario on the road Thursday in a Loara Tournament game.