Near the top

Mike Sciacca, Coastline Pilot

A big day of sports on the Laguna Beach High campus begins today at

3:15 p.m., when the Artists take on University in a key Pacific Coast

League baseball showdown.

The game will be the third meeting of the season between the two

teams, with each team owning one victory.

University broke a log jam at the top of the league standings last

Tuesday by defeating the visiting Artists, 6-4.

The victory gave the Trojans a one-game lead on Laguna Beach.

But there is plenty of time for the Artists to gain ground: seven

league games remain on the schedule, beginning with today’s critical

meeting with the Trojans.

“The key to our success is our defense,” explained coach Mike

Schubert. “When we play well defensively, we win.”

University (9-10, 6-2) jumped on Laguna Beach (11-5, 5-3) for three

first-inning runs in Tuesday’s victory and extended the lead to 5-1 after

three innings, forcing the Artists into playing a game of catch up. The

Artists did stage a three-run rally in the seventh inning but still came

up short.

Five errors in the field weighed heavy in the defeat, which ended a

win streak at three games for the Artists.

One month ago to the day, the Artists opened PCL play with a 3-2 win

over the Trojans.

“University is a well-coached team and is coming on strong in league

play,” Schubert said.

The Artists certainly have grasped the team concept, as they entered

the week with a team ERA of 2.17, and a solid .348 team batting average.

A team comprised mostly of juniors, Laguna Beach gets leadership from

a senior foursome of pitcher Todd Merz, who is 3-2 and may start on the

mound today, catcher Ian Baumer, second baseman Clayton Dubin and

outfielder Scott Labeda.

Following today’s game, Laguna Beach has a two-game series next week

with Costa Mesa. On the horizon is a two-game series with Northwood.

The Artists, who were rated 10th in this week’s CIF-Southern Section

Division IV rankings, conclude the regular season with a two-game series

against Corona del Mar.

Prior to Schubert’s arrival on campus three years ago, when he came to

Laguna Beach after serving as a pitching coach at the University of

Wisconsin, Parkside, the Artists had not participated in the CIF playoffs

since 1963.

He, along with the efforts of assistant coaches Dave Dopf and Steve

Sampson, have the Artists once again in the hunt for a league title.

“This is probably the best group of kids I’ve been around -- and I’d

say that if we had 11 wins o7 orf7 11 losses,” Schubert added.

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at (714)

965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.