Newport Harbor Stays Steady, Takes Game 2 Against Huntington Beach (2025)

Newport Beach – Stuart Fine Field (NHHS)

In a dominant battle on Wednesday, Newport Harbor took control midway through and never looked back, defeating Huntington Beach 5-2 at home. After falling behind early, the Sailors rallied with a four-run fourth inning and held off the Oilers’ attempts to answer back, setting up a pivotal series finale later this week.

Huntington Beach struck first when Ethan Porter launched a solo home run to center field in the top of the second inning, giving the Oilers an early 1-0 lead. Newport Harbor’s bats came alive in the bottom of the fourth. Keoni Wun delivered a single to center to bring home Elijah Haseth and Wyatt Gahm, both of whom had reached on steals and heads-up baserunning. Moments later, Adam Martin singled to second base, allowing Cameron Hatfield and Wun to cross the plate, giving the Sailors a 4-1 advantage.

Huntington Beach briefly trimmed the deficit when Owen Bone belted a solo home run to left field in the fifth inning, but Newport Harbor added an insurance run in the bottom half. Cole Harrison’s ground ball to third resulted in an error, scoring Jackson Stremick to push the lead to 5-2.

Defensively, the Sailors played clean baseball, committing no errors. Lucas Perez was steady behind the plate, leading the team with five putouts. Despite a strong effort from Huntington Beach’s bullpen, the Oilers couldn’t crack the Sailors’ late-inning pitching, and Newport Harbor evened the series at one game apiece.

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Pitching

Tyler Clark earned the victory on the mound for the Sailors. The right-hander worked 4.2 innings, scattering three hits and giving up two runs while striking out three and walking one. Elijah Haseth came on in relief and was lights out with two strikeouts, tossing 2.1 innings of scoreless baseball to pick up the save. Huntington Beach starter Jared Grindlinger opened with two clean innings, allowing just two hits and striking out three before handing the ball over to the bullpen. Duncan McLeod took the brunt of the Sailors’ explosion for the Oilers after surrendering three runs in a tough fourth inning.

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Batting

Newport Harbor’s offense was paced by multi-hit games from Adam Martin, Lucas Perez, and Keoni Wun. Martin and Wun each drove in two runs, helping the Sailors surge ahead in the middle innings. Wun also showed speed on the basepaths, sparking the team with a key single and aggressive baserunning in the fourth. For Huntington Beach, Owen Bone led the way, going 2-for-3 with a solo homer, and Ethan Porter added a home run of his own in the early innings to give the Oilers a brief lead.

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What’s next

With the series tied at 1-1, both Newport Harbor and Huntington Beach will look to claim the series victory when they face off in the intense match on Friday at Huntington Beach High School. The Sailors will aim to ride the momentum of Wednesday’s win, while the Oilers will seek to regroup and defend home field in what promises to be an exciting finish between two strong Sunset League rivals.