Prep column: Acts of novelty

Barry Faulkner

Though one of the most alluring aspects of athletic competition is

unpredictability, Friday’s Pacific Coast League baseball game between

Corona del Mar High and host University served up a virtually

unprecedented portion.

Two singular sightings, in fact, were generated by a fourth-inning

sequence that included the University bat boy.

The first oddity involved a throw from a CdM outfielder, directed to

home plate to try to nail a runner attempting to score from second. The

throw veered off target and struck the bat boy, who had prematurely

attempted to retrieve the bat from the area around the plate.

The subsequent interference ruling resulted in the third out of the

inning, succinctly killing a University rally.

The news, however, quickly got better for the Sea Kings, thanks to

Coach John Emme. Emme, upon learning of the interference call, correctly

and convincingly pointed out that the ball contacted the bat boy before a

second run scored on the play.

After consulting with his base umpire, the home plate umpire, who made

the interference call, heeded Emme’s point and instructed the official

scorer to subtract a run from the Trojan total.

The novelty of actually winning an argument with an umpire was not

lost on Emme, who instructed me after the game to “Mark it down,” so as

to record it for posterity.

University Coach Chris Conlin, who steadfastly refuted the initial

judgment, displayed a sense of humor about the play after the game, when

he jokingly asked about my availability for future service as bat boy.

The fact that the Trojans won, 4-1, no doubt added to Conlin’s comedic

sensibility.

A lesser-known anomaly involving the CdM loss was the fact that it was

the first Sea King setback since Dave Eagle, father of senior designated

hitter Billy Eagle, began wearing his lucky fishing hat in the stands.

The hat, a faded ash color with the likeness of a yellowfin tuna

embroidered on the crown, had been 3-0, since the elder Eagle broke it

out attempting to end a brief team slump.

No word yet on whether Eagle will unveil a new luck charm when the Sea

Kings visit Costa Mesa tonight at 7 at TeWinkle Park. Based on the

expected evening chill, however, perhaps his favorite stocking cap would

fit the bill.

The Newport Harbor High boys track and field team, unbeaten in Sea

View League dual meets this spring, will attempt to defend its league

title at league finals Thursday at Irvine High.

And while senior standouts Peter Bass, Adam Kerns and David Sprenger

have been consistent leaders for Coach Bim Barry, another contributor,

senior 800-meter runner Noe Perez, was recruited out of Harbor girls

coach Eric Tweit’s P.E. class.

“(Perez showed up on my roll sheet for cross country last season,”

Barry said. “Coach Tweit said he saw him running in his P.E. class and

encouraged him to come out.

“He was the JV league champion in cross country, he’s been our best

half-miler and he’s improved every week. We’re hopeful he can qualify for

CIF.”

For the first time, the spoils for the winner of Wednesday’s Costa

Mesa-Estancia Pacific Coast League swim meet included some grub, as well

as crosstown bragging rights.

Unlike their fellow athletes in football, basketball and baseball,

however, the victorious Estancia boys and Costa Mesa girls teams did not

partake of the now familiar postgame rib feast. Instead, they chowed down

on more traditional Mexican fare, courtesy of a local Baja Fresh

restaurant.

The UC Irvine baseball team’s recent assent to second place in the Big

West Conference, a half-game ahead of Cal State Fullerton, was assisted

by former CdM High standout Matt Larson, who yielded just one earned run

in seven innings Sunday to help Cal State Northridge complete a

three-game sweep of the Titans. Larson is now 4-3 for the Matadors.

Former Newport Harbor football star Chris Manderino is already making

his mark as a redshirt freshman walk-on at Cal.

Manderino, the 2000 Newport-Mesa District Most Valuable Player who

helped Newport Harbor make back-to-back CIF Southern Section title-game

appearances, including a Division VI title in 1999, played fullback and

tailback with the first-team offense in the Golden Bears’ Blue-Gold

spring game Saturday.

Playing tailback in the second half, Manderino carried eight times for

30 yards and two TDs.

If you ever wondered how they rate, at least in terms of playoff

revenue, these are profit projections by sport taken from the proposed

Southern Section budget for the 2002-03 school year.

1. Football ($630,000); 2. Boys and girls basketball ($270,000); 3.

Boys and girls volleyball ($50,000); 4. Baseball ($40,000); 5. Boys and

girls soccer ($35,000); 6. Boys and girls cross country ($34,000); 7.

Boys and girls track and field ($30,000); 8. Softball ($17,000); 9. Boys and girls water polo ($16,000); 10. (tie) Boys and girls swimming,

wrestling (both $9,000); 12. (tie) Boys and girls tennis, boys and girls

golf (both $1,000).

Losses of $2,500 are projected for coed badminton.