Prep column: A break in the routine

Barry Faulkner

Sunshine, sunflower seeds and a scorecard are just some of the

ingredients which make spring break baseball an annual highlight of the

prep sports beat.

But after catching drizzle for six innings of Costa Mesa High’s 10-0

mercy-rule defeat at the hands of visiting A.B. Miller Monday, I began to

think otherwise.

The skies cleared Tuesday afternoon, however, and the infectious

enthusiasm spilling from the Costa Mesa dugout helped remind me how much

joy this pastoral pastime could provide.

Costa Mesa junior Carlos Franco displayed his ample passion for the game

by dragging the infield, moments before climbing the mound to author a

complete-game five-hitter in the Mustangs’ 8-2 win over Orange.

Franco, whose barely-below-the-knee pinstripe pants and roundish physique

stir nostalgic images of Babe Ruth waddling his way to baseball

immortality, was completely in his element.

A diamond rat, who prompted a teammate to hit him ground balls at third,

as others raked the infield following a 10-0 loss to University last

week, Franco savored every pitch of his second start of the season.

When a sharp comebacker ricocheted off his right ankle, directly to the

third baseman who threw the runner out at first to end Orange’s third

inning, Franco bounded to the dugout, obeying diamond dogma by refusing

to rub the wound.

He later admitted the blow was painful, but not until gleefully

professing his pride in recording an assist on the play.

Franco, whose base-running zeal sometimes supersedes his sundial speed,

was extremely out at home in the fifth, when the Orange catcher retrieved

a wild pitched that had bounced a few feet away, scrambled back to his

position, then awaited Franco’s presence for the tag. The certainty of

the putout forced Franco to abort his trademark headfirst slide, which

displaces dirt similar to the splash of a cannonball dive into the deep

end.

Franco drove in two insurance runs with a bloop single in the sixth,

rumbled to second on the ensuing throw to third base, then smiled all the

way to the dugout when replaced by a pinch-runner.

Franco’s teammates thoroughly enhanced the entertainment factor.

Senior Galel Fajardo, a particularly audible member of the Mustangs’

dugout chatter brigade, unleashed this gem after teammate Nick Cabico’s

attempt to bunt for a base hit rolled foul: “I can smell you working up

there, Nicky.”

Cabico, nicknamed “Splinter” also prompted the following anonymous

offering after lining a single to center field: “Nice rope, Splinter.”

q

Corona del Mar’s Pride of the Coast Tournament contest Wednesday against

visiting San Clemente was another afternoon well spent.

This time, however, some CdM parents provided the humorous anecdotes

during the 5-4 CdM loss.

When the home-plate umpire called timeout just before a pitch to shoo

away a bug which had apparently flown into his mask, one CdM parent asked

another about the delay.

Without hesitation, another parent jokingly replied: “His artificial eye

fell out.”

q

The Pride of the Coast Tournament, which has failed to attract 16 teams

in recent years, leading to some creative scheduling, will once again be

a 16-team event next season, CdM Coach John Emme said.

Emme, who will replace CdM Athletic Director Jerry Jelnick as tournament

director, said he and CdM assistant Aaron Kokx will work hard to return

the tournament to the prestige it once held.

q

Hopefully a 16-team field in 2001 will include Estancia, rounding out the

unanimous Newport-Mesa District participation which has annually added to

the Pride of the Coast experience.

The Eagles opted for a nonleague doubleheader today (hosting Rancho

Alamitos at 11 a.m.) as their only Easter break action this season.

q

The Costa Mesa High boys volleyball team, which dominated the competition

to win the 16-team Mayfair Tournament Saturday, is a prime example of a

team which could benefit from the Sweet 16 major-division CIF

championship tournament proposed by Newport Harbor Coach Dan Glenn.

Such an event would draw the top teams from lower divisions, such as

Corona del Mar in Division III, leaving teams like Costa Mesa a better

chance to contend for a Southern Section championship.

This year’s squad has fared well against foes other than CdM and Laguna

Beach and would all but lock up a guaranteed playoff berth with a second

league victory over University Wednesday (at Uni).

The 1998 Mustangs, the school’s best team since the early 1980s, were

eliminated in the CIF Division III quarterfinals by CdM. But with CdM

playing in Division I (which would not be possible next season, unless

Glenn’s reforms gain favor), Mesa could make some postseason noise this

spring in Division III.