Baseball: Sea Kings outlast Argonauts

Tony Altobelli

CORONA DEL MAR - Corona del Mar High baseball coach John Emme

summed up his thoughts on a 16-15 win over Garden Grove in a consolation

make-up game of the Foothill baseball tournament Monday.

“That win should be dragged out behind the barn and shot,” Emme said.

That statement best reflects a game in which CdM (6-5) allowed 12 hits,

15 walks and a nine-run fourth inning to the Argonauts and o7 stillf7

managed to win.

“We hung in there, somehow,” Emme said. “We fell behind by six and still

managed to pull it out. We wanted to gain some momentum heading into

(today’s) game with Laguna Beach and we did, I think.”

Billy Eagle’s ninth-inning, one-out single into the left-center field gap

scored Keith Long with the game-winning run, ending the three-hour

marathon.

Long reached base, ironically, by way of a walk and reached second base

on a balk, setting up Eagle’s heroics. “That’s why he’s batting third for

us,” Emme said of Eagle.

The 2000 Sea Kings, a faster and perhaps less-powerful model than the

1999 CIF champions, used 17 hits (15 singles), eight stolen bases and

five walks to produce their 16 runs.

“We pretty much could run at will today and that helped us get into

scoring position and kept pressure on their guys to throw strikes,” Emme

said.

Leading the offensive attack was John DiCesare and Eagle, each with three

hits. DiCesare also scored three and drove in two.

CdM led, 8-5, after three innings before Garden Grove sent 13 runners to

the plate in the fourth. The Sea Kings shot themselves in the foot by

walking six in that inning.

Four straight singles by Derek Loe, Eric Snell, DiCesare and Andrew Johns

helprf spark a four-run fourth for CdM, cutting the lead to 14-12.

A costly Argonauts’ two-out error led to three unearned runs in the fifth

inning as CdM regained the lead, 15-14.

Garden Grove’s No. 9 hitter, Eric Fernandez, who went 3 for 4 with four

runs scored, slammed a solo home run to left, tying the game at 15-15.

Matt Marston threw five innings of relief to earn his first win of the

year.

“He threw strikes and let his defense work for him,” Emme said. “It’s

amazing how much better your defense is when your pitcher throws

strikes.”

CdM will resume Pacific Coast League play today at Laguna Beach,

beginning at 3 p.m.

FOOTHILL TOURNAMENT

Consolation

Corona del Mar 16, Garden Grove 15

Garden Grove 140 901 000 - 15 12 3

Corona del Mar 314 430 001 - 16 17 2

Garcia, Bennett (2), Carreira (4), O’Brien (6) and O’Brien, Bennett (6);

Snell, Hockinson (4), Marston (6) and McKeever, Cuyler (6). W - Marston,

1-0. L - O’Brien. 2B - Delgato (GG), Harkey (GG), Benoit (GG), O’Brien

(GG), Snell (CdM), DiCesare (CdM). HR - Fernandez (GG).