Prep baseball: Minds matter

Barry Faulkner

COSTA MESA - Corona del Mar High baseball coach John Emme believes

his team’s baseball IQ has risen noticeably in recent weeks. And, not

coincidentally, so has the Sea Kings’ place in the Pacific Coast League

standings.

After Friday’s 11-3 victory at Estancia, CdM (12-8, 5-3 in league)

solidified its hold on second place, two games ahead of third-place

Laguna Beach with four league games remaining.

“We’re in a really good position,” said Emme, whose squad has won four of

its last five. “While we’re playing (first-place) University (in a

home-and-home series Tuesday and Friday), Costa Mesa (3-5 in league) and

Laguna Beach (4-6 in league) are beating up on themselves. If Mesa sweeps

(Laguna Beach) then we’re in the playoffs. Then it’s just a question of

whether us or Mesa finishes second.”

There wasn’t much question about Friday’s outcome, after the visitors

scored four runs on four hits in their first at-bat.

“I heard one of their coaches talking to another coach and he said ‘(The

Sea Kings) are ready to play today,’ ” Emme said. “When we’ve been

successful, we’ve jumped out early and the first inning has been good for

us.”

Alex Swanson started things with a single and stolen base, the latter his

Orange County-leading 25th. It was the first of four steals in the inning

for the Sea Kings.

After a strikeout, Billy Eagle walked and John DiCesare singled in

Swanson. Keith Long followed with a two-run double. Then, after Andrew

Johns singled, Long scored on Derek Loe’s groundout to complete the 4-0

cushion.

C.K. Green singled in an Estancia run in the home half of the first, but

then CdM starter J.D. Martinez settled down.

The junior right-hander left the bases loaded in the first and second,

but yielded only one hit in the next three innings, as CdM built the lead

to 9-1.

“J.D. was a little rusty in the first couple innings, but then he started

getting his curveball over for strikes,” Emme said.

The Sea Kings scored three in the third when Johns singled in a run and

Estancia nemesis Wes Hockinson doubled in two.

“That Hockinson killed us this week,” Estancia Coach Doug Deats said. “He

had two hits today, he doubled to start the winning rally Tuesday and

also made a diving catch (Tuesday) to kill a rally.”

The Eagles needed no help killing their own rallies Friday, including a

five-hit sixth inning, which produced only two runs.

“We left 11 runners on today and the last time I checked, that isn’t

good,” Deats said. “CdM got some two-out hits today (four) and, other

than our sixth inning, we had none.”

Armando Ortiz, Jordan Hart and Green singled with two out in the sixth,

with Hart and Green collecting RBIs.

All but one Estancia starter contributed to its 12-hit attack, with

Ortiz, Hart, David Akiva and Matt Mueller each collecting two hits.

Nine of the 10 Sea Kings who batted reached base, as Johns, a junior

first baseman, finished 3 for 4 to lead the 15-hit barrage.

Long, a freshman shortstop, was 2 for 3 with three RBIs, while DiCesare

was 2 for 3 with one RBI. Swanson and Hockinson also had two hits.

Martinez, who went the distance, improved to 4-5.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Corona del Mar 11, Estancia 3

Corona del Mar 403 002 2 - 11 15 2

Estancia 100 002 0 - 3 12 2

Martinez and McKeever; Green, Hart (7) and Davis. W - Martinez, 4-5. L -

Green, 3-7. 2B - Long (CdM), Hockinson (CdM), Knecht (CdM), DiCesare

(CdM).