Prep baseball: Sea Kings, Mesa begin CIF quests

Barry Faulkner

Corona del Mar High needed to sweep Pacific Coast League rival

Costa Mesa last week to clinch the Sea Kings’ first outright league title

in at least 19 years. CdM, in fact, won three games from the Mustangs,

with whom they played on the same Connie Mack team last summer.

If the Newport-Mesa schools are to meet again, however, it would be at

Dodger Stadium in the CIF Southern Section Division IV championship game.

CdM (17-8), which won the Division IV title in 1999, takes the first

step along its postseason path Friday when it hosts 1998 Division IV champion Ocean View (16-13) at 3:15 p.m.

Costa Mesa (15-9-1), which missed the playoffs last year after

reaching the Division IV quarterfinals in ‘99, visits Gladstone (22-1) in

Friday’s first round.

Coach John Emme’s Sea Kings had a six-game playoff winning streak

snapped last spring, when Western eliminated them in the second round.

CdM won its first nine PCL contests, then split its last six. The Sea

Kings lost four of their last seven, but do carry some momentum, after

the aforementioned Mesa sweep, which allowed them to hold off

hard-charging University.

CdM is led by three-year starting center fielder Billy Eagle, hitting

.453 (34 for 75) with four homer runs, 17 RBIs and 21 runs. Eagle was the

Newport-Mesa District Player of the Year as a sophomore after helping the

Sea Kings claim the CIF crown as a freshman.

Several other CdM seniors watched the ’99 title run from the bench,

including first baseman Andrew Johns (.395 with 18 RBIs), third

baseman-pitcher Eric Snell and outfielder Dave Knecht (.333 with 11

RBIs).

Senior pitcher Cavan Cuyler (6-3 with a 3.59 ERA) saw time on the

mound during the ’99 postseason run and also earned the victory in CdM’s

first-round playoff win last season over Cathedral.

Ocean View, guided by veteran coach Steve Barrett, finished third in

the Golden West League. The Seahawks were defeated by Costa Mesa, 10-4,

in a Foothill-Costa Mesa Tournament game March 8.

Ocean View, which has produced major league pitchers Mike Fyhrie, Dan

Naulty, Brent Knackert and David Holdridge, is led by pitcher Tyler Kreil

(1.76 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings heading into last week)

and Joey Lococo (.453 with 13 RBIs through May 5).

Coach Kirk Bauermeister’s Mustangs, who finished third in the PCL, are

one victory away from tying the school single-season record. They won 16

games in 1999, as well as 1962, when they claimed the Southern Section

3-A championship.

The Mustangs are led by seniors Carlos Franco, Josh Feldman, Daniel

Hunter and Steven Shores, as well as juniors Nick Cabico and Michael

McGuire.

The Mustangs had won three straight, before dropping a pair to CdM

last week.

Covina-based Gladstone, ranked No. 6 in the final Division IV poll,

has a pair of unbeaten pitchers. Russell Foldon is 8-0 with a 1.97 ERA

and 70 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings and David Rausch is 6-0 with a 1.75

ERA and 48 strikeouts in 44 innings. Foldon also has 29 RBIs.

Coach Rich Remkus’ Gladiators won their 10th Montview League crown in

the last 13 seasons. They won Southern Section championships in 1973 and

1986.

If victorious, CdM would meet either Chaminade (21-3) or Bolsa Grande

(15-12) in the second round, May 22, while Mesa would battle either St.

Paul or Mayfair (14-9).

The top four seeds are Bishop Amat (19-2), La Quinta (23-2), Monrovia

(18-3) and Lompoc (23-3), respectively.