Baseball: CdM wins big, 14-3

Joseph Boo

LAGUNA BEACH - Laguna Beach High’s baseball team couldn’t buy a

break Tuesday, and that gave visiting Corona del Mar a free ride to a

14-3 five-inning Pacific Coast League romp. The win keeps the Sea Kings

in a second-place tie with Costa Mesa.

Up, 4-0, CdM (7-5, 3-2 in league) emphatically put the game away with a

nine-run third inning. Eric Snell led off the third with a solo home run

to deep center field. The next batter, CdM starting pitcher Dave Knecht,

reached on an error, and he scored off a double by Wes Hockinson.

After an error put Alex Swanson aboard, the Sea Kings had four

consecutive run-scoring singles from Keith Long, Billy Eagle, Derek Loe

and John DiCesare. CdM’s offensive explosion was capped off by a two-run

single from Andrew Johns.

“Up and down, everybody played well today,” CdM Coach John Emme said.

Laguna Beach (3-7, 2-3) did not help itself with four errors in the

third. But the Artists really hurt themselves when two potential runs

didn’t come in.

In the first inning with runners on second and third, a Laguna Beach

baserunner was hit by a grounder, keeping a man at third. With runners on

first and third in the second inning and no one out, Laguna Beach’s Greg

Handley slid hard into CdM second baseman Hockinson and was called out

for interfering on a double play attempt. Under CIF rules, baserunners

can’t advance on an interference, so the Artists stranded a man on third.

“Honestly, I think that’s a bad rule,” Emme said. “A runner on third will

score on a double play. But we’ll take it.”

Including a 16-15 win against Garden Grove on Monday, CdM has scored 30

runs in two days. Eagle continued his torrid performance at the plate by

going 4 for 4, all on singles. He went 3 for 6 on Monday, including the

game-winning hit in the ninth inning.

“Billy’s been a big catalyst for us,” Emme said.

DiCesare had three singles and two RBIs. Johns led the Sea Kings with

three RBIs.

J.D. Martinez pitched the final three innings for CdM and picked up the

win. He had five strikeouts.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Corona del Mar 14, Laguna Beach 3

Corona del Mar 229 00 - 14 14 0

Laguna Beach 010 11 - 3 7 5

Knecht, Martinez (3) and McKeever; Ziegler, Dy-Buncio (3), Bobst (4) and

Gagneti. W - Martinez, 2-3. L - Ziegler. 2B - Hockinson (CdM), Johns

(CdM). HR - Snell (CdM), Schissler (LB), Gagneti (LB).