AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL AREA 6 TOURNAMENT : Newbury Oaks Prevails When a Long Drive Falls Short

Newbury Oaks relief pitcher Tighe Curran didn’t waste anybody’s time with false bravado or a “What, me worry?” grin.

He was frettin’ and sweatin’. It was going to be agony or ecstasy.

There would be no middle ground.

“As soon as he hit it, I started running off the field,” Curran said. “I knew that it was either gone and that I wanted to hide, or that it was the third out.

“Either way, I got out of there.”

With the tying and go-ahead runs aboard, a long fly ball by Glen Carson was hauled in at the warning track in left field as Newbury Oaks held off Van Nuys-Notre Dame, 7-6, on Thursday in a first-round thriller in the American Legion Area 6 baseball tournament at UCLA’s Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Curran admitted that when Carson smashed the changeup, he thought the game was history. Turns out he was right--but it was Newbury Oaks that survived.

“I thought it was gone,” said Curran, a left-hander.

Instead, the ball landed in Mike Moore’s glove, earning Newbury Oaks (24-1) a meeting with Claremont tonight at 6 in a pairing of first-round winners. Claremont defeated Westchester, 4-2, in another first-round game.

Meanwhile, Encino-Crespi defeated Pomona, 4-1, and will face Westchester today at 2 p.m. Van Nuys (26-4) will meet Pomona at 10 a.m. in an elimination game.

Van Nuys’ loss was frustrating for the District 20 champion.

“There’s no way they’re better than us,” Van Nuys Coach Jody Breeden grumbled. “I really thought we were gonna win it.”

With Van Nuys trailing, 7-5, with one out in the ninth, Francisco Dongo started a rally by beating out a bunt down the third base line. Jasen McConaghy followed with a line single to right, which prompted a meeting on the mound.

Curran’s next offering was spanked into right by Cesar Martinez to drive home Dongo and put runners at first and second. Next up was third baseman Lou Tapia, the cleanup hitter and team leader in batting average and runs batted in.

“I really thought that with Louie and Glen coming up, we had ‘em,” Breeden said. “What else could you ask for?”

Tapia, however, popped out to first, setting the stage for Carson. With the runners going on a 3-and-2 pitch, Carson sent Moore to the track and caused more than a few hearts to miss a beat.

“That’s definitely a good team,” Curran said. “We’ve played well all year and averaged about 15 runs a game. Scoring runs and winning big had never been a problem before this.”

Thursday, both teams struggled with persistent problems: holding a lead and finding somebody to bang out the big hit. Newbury Oaks, the District 16 champion, blew advantages of 2-0 and 4-2. Van Nuys blew a 5-4 lead. The score also was tied, 2-2 and 5-5, as the teams combined to strand 21 baserunners.

With Van Nuys holding a 5-4 lead in the seventh, Curran (6-0) drove home Jim Chergey with the tying run on a line single to center. Newbury Oaks added a run in the eighth on a single by shortstop David Lamb--who had three hits--to take a 6-5 lead and Ryan Kritscher gave Newbury Oaks a two-run margin with a sacrifice fly in the ninth.

In another Area 6 game:

Encino-Crespi 4, Pomona 1--Right-hander Jeff Suppan (10-1) tossed a five-hitter, struck out 11 and walked three to lead Encino.

Encino (21-8) will play Westchester today at 2 p.m.

Suppan carried a shutout into the eighth, when Pomona pushed across an unearned run on an infielder grounder.

Encino scored three runs in the first inning. The third batter in the bottom of the first, catcher Casey Snow, slammed a two-run homer over the 365-foot sign in left-center to hand Encino a 2-0 lead. Suppan followed with a double to the gap in right-center and scored on an error for a 3-0 lead.

Suppan escaped his toughest jam in the third when, with runners at first and second and a 3-and-0 count, he picked off the runner at second for the first out. Then with the bases loaded and two out, he struck out Greg Wolden to end the threat.

Suppan recorded seven of the first 12 outs by strikeout. First baseman Joe Turner added two hits for Encino.