Prep baseball: Sea Kings peppered by Mater Dei

Barry Faulkner

SANTA ANA - After finding seemingly all visible gaps in the Corona

del Mar High defense Friday, host Mater Dei High began launching probes

into the atmosphere, and beyond the outfield fence, to claim a 14-3

season-opening baseball victory in the first round of the Newport Elks

Tournament.

The Monarchs directed nine singles and a double between defenders to

post four runs in each of the first two innings.

Junior Daniel Perales then began a mini home-run binge with an

opposite-field solo shot in the third to up the hosts’ lead to 9-1.

Mater Dei senior catcher J.J. Owen belted a three-run homer and

Perales followed with a two-run shot in the fourth to cap the scoring for

the Monarchs.

CdM manufactured a 1-0 lead when two-time All-CIF Southern Section

performer Billy Eagle walked, was sacrificed to second, reached third on

a passed ball and scored on an RBI groundout by junior Mater Dei transfer

Nick Karpe.

CdM also scored when freshman Wess Presson singled in Josh Bradbury in

the third. Bradbury led off the inning with a bad-hop single, then stole

second.

Junior shortstop Keith Long doubled in Eagle, who singled to lead off

the fifth, for the Sea Kings’ final run.

Eagle, relegated to designated hitter duty due to a sore elbow,

walked three times, stole a base and scored twice in the leadoff spot.

Long (2 for 3) also had a good day at the plate for CdM, which hosts

Tustin today at 11 a.m. in a consolation game.

“We’re going to be fine,” CdM Coach John Emme said. “We showed some

flashes of what we can do defensively and I thought we were swinging the

bat well. I also thought Wess Presson showed he belonged.”

The Sea King started five underclassmen against a Mater Dei lineup of

all juniors and seniors.

Additionally, sophomore left-hander Blake Contant worked 2 1/2 innings

of scoreless relief. Contant’s mound stint included a deftly turned 6-4-3

double play from Long to second baseman Jeritt Thayer to Brandon Lewis,

who made a deep stretch to help finish the play.

NEWPORT ELKS TOURNAMENT

First round

Mater Dei 14, Corona del Mar 3

Corona del Mar 100 110 0 - 3 6 1 Mater Dei 441 500 x - 14 19 2

Rhodes, Contant (4) and Karpe; Slama, Gagne (5), Vogl (7) and Owen. W

- Slama, 1-0. L - Rhodes, 0-1. 2B - Santos (MD), Long (CdM). HR - Perales

(MD) 2, Owen (MD).