Baseball: Sea Kings steal one from Artists

Richard Dunn

LAGUNA BEACH - Championship teams always seem to discover new ways

to win baseball games.

Not that Corona del Mar High is celebrating anything yet, but after

Friday’s 5-4 Pacific Coast League victory over host Laguna Beach in eight

innings, the Sea Kings are probably asking themselves, “Is this really

happening?”

Down 4-1 in their last at-bat against a tough left-handed pitcher

(John Verdugo), the Sea Kings tied the game on an opposite-field

three-run home run by Jason Savopolos, their No. 9 hitter in the order.

Then, in the eighth, the Sea Kings (10-3, 7-0 in PCL) scored without a

hit to pull ahead, and CdM senior right-hander Cavin Cuyler closed the

door on the Artists (2-5 in league) as Corona del Mar remained undefeated

in league.

Cuyler, who improved to 4-1, scattered nine hits and shut out Laguna

Beach over the last five innings in his 103-pitch effort.

Verdugo, who pitched well enough to win for the Artists, was the

victim of poor defense. He struck out nine, walked only one and allowed

just two earned runs.

In the seventh, CdM’s Wes Hockinson reached on an error, one of five

Laguna Beach miscues, to open the inning. Derek Lewis followed with a

single to right, then an out later, Savopolos drove a 1-0 fastball over

the right-field fence for his second home run of the season, both coming

in dramatic fashion.

“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was a good hit,” said Savopolos, whose

other home run this season crowned a mercy-rule win over Northwood.

Savopolos’ three-run bomb knocked the wind out of Laguna Beach’s

sails. Verdugo, working on a gem, was two outs from a complete-game upset

victory over the PCL front-runners.

“There’s no pressure (batting ninth),” Savopolos said. “There are no

expectations. I can just relax up there. I do better when I relax.”

In the top of the eighth with one out, Verdugo hit Hockinson with a

pitch, then plunked Lewis on an 0-2 delivery, prompting Artists Coach

Mike Schubert to come out to the mound with a hook.

With reliever Todd Merz on the hill, Hockinson stole third base, then

scored on a wild throw from the catcher.

To steal third, with a runner already in scoring position and one out

in a deadlocked ballgame, is a risk, especially since Merz had just

attempted a pickoff at second.

But CdM Coach John Emme exploited the Laguna Beach defense and gave

Hockinson the steal sign.

“We thought if we needed to, we could get to third base, because the

shortstop is holding on (the runner), and he’s got to play his position,

too, and he can’t always commit going to the bag,” said Emme, who noticed

that when his team played (and defeated) the Artists on Tuesday.

“We work on that stuff in practice. We also knew the pitcher (Merz)

had a big leg kick, so we knew if (Hockinson) could get a good enough

lead and still get back, he could make it to third. (The play) wasn’t

going to be close. Whether it was a good throw or bad throw, he was going

to make it. We practice all sorts of ways to win baseball games. We just

got to use one today.”

The Sea Kings, ranked No. 10 in this week’s Orange County Top-10 Poll,

scored an unearned run in the second inning, before finally cracking

Verdugo in the seventh.

Laguna Beach scored once in the first inning, twice in the second and

once more in the third, getting two hits in each inning. But Cuyler, the

ace of the CdM staff, blanked the Artists the rest of the way.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Corona del Mar 5, Laguna Beach 4 (eight innings)

Corona del Mar 010 000 31 - 5 7 3

Laguna Beach 121 000 00 - 4 9 5

Cuyler and McKeever; Verdugo, Merz (8) and Baumer. W - Cuyler, 4-1. L

- Verdugo. 2B - Bobst (LB), Baumer (LB). HR - Savopolos (CdM).