Newcomb's 4 hits boost Central

KYLE NEWCOMB recently checked his baseball stats on a national website and almost found himself wondering, "Is this Christmas morning?"

Talk about gifts . . .

"They had my average at about .500," he said, smiling. "I'm not sure how accurate that is.

"I did hit a few shots right at people that probably should have been caught. They ended up dropping them. I remember one was at a leftfielder. Kind of near his feet. Maybe they gave me a hit on that?"

Wednesday, this much was certain: Newcomb batted 1.000.

The 5-6, 160-pound senior, who splits his time between (mostly) second base and centerfield, went 4-for-4 with a double, three RBI and two runs scored - oh, he also got plunked - as visiting Central High outlasted Prep Charter, 11-9, in a Public A marathon at 7th and Packer, in South Philly.

The game required 3 hours, 12 minutes (as in 27-plus minutes per inning) and the outcome was still in doubt until reliever Anthony DeVito registered a looking strikeout with four runs in and the bases loaded.

"We're used to it with these guys," Newcomb noted. "It was nuts up at our place, too. Probably took longer. Tom Benek got a walkoff hit to win it. Hey, at least the weather was nice today. Last time it was cold."

This outing offered another flashback for Newcomb. Of the personal variety.

As the second guy to stroll to the plate, he sent a bloop to right-center that honestly should have been caught. The reaction times of assorted defenders were slow, however, and the ball kissed grass for a hit.

"That happened in our last game against Franklin Towne," Newcomb said. "I started off with a blooper, then hit some hard balls and wound up 2-for-3.

"It made me feel good to get that first hit. I got a little jammed on it. But I was thinking, 'Oh, well. Let it happen. Maybe it'll get the luck on my side again.' "

The plunking occurred in the second. Newcomb bagged one RBI with a hard grounder right up the middle in the fourth and two more with a ringing double to right-center in the fifth. He returned to the bloop-one-and-hope plan in the seventh. This one, to right, produced a single, then he stole second and came around on Louis Lobron's single.

One thing "Nuke" knew this time around. His postgame talk with his father, John, would be stress-free.

"He comes to almost all my games, and likes to add his two cents," Kyle said.

A good two cents?

"Sometimes," he cracked.

He added, "Really, he only speaks up if I'm having bad at-bats. He wants me to get the most out of each one. I understand that."

Though Newcomb does have decent strength in his compact body, swinging from the heels is not his thing.

"I try not to hit for power," he noted. "If I try to do that, I usually overswing. I try to stay back and put the ball in play. Drive it somewhere and see what happens."

Newcomb's previous Pub school was Julia Masterman, a fellow Pub A baseball member. However, he went there only through the eighth grade, then switched to Central because he figured the overall sports program would be better. He did play football for 2 years, then decided to concentrate on baseball.

Kyle's brother, Trevor, played baseball for Philadelphia Academy Charter and now attends Penn State Abington. Kyle is headed for Penn State's main campus and might attempt to make the squad as a walk-on. Intended major: computer science.

"It's a broad field," he said. "I'll explore it, and see what I like."

What the baseball gods liked for this one: baserunners. There were 24 hits and 16 walks, along with two HBPs.

For Central, Louis Lobron posted a two-run double in the fifth and Benek clubbed a two-run homer to dead left in the seventh. That blast highlighted a four-run outburst, providing an 11-5 cushion, but the Huskies rallied and rallied some more thanks mostly to Keegan McKoskey's two-run single.

Overall, the frosh went 3-for-4 with a double and the two ribbies. Rob Freer added two hits, three RBI.

Newcomb, who lives in Somerton, knows Pub baseball is wide open this year.

"We beat these guys. They beat Frankford. Frankford beat us . . . " he said. "It'll be interesting. Anyone can beat anyone."

And anyone can hit .500?