Prep baseball: Sea Kings roll into playoffs

Barry Faulkner

CORONA DEL MAR - The 10-1 victory Wednesday in which Corona del Mar

High clinched a berth in the CIF Southern Section Division IV baseball

playoffs, was somewhat typical of the Sea Kings’ tumultuous Pacific Coast

League campaign.

The first parallel: CdM appeared intent on giving it away.

Just like their 0-3 PCL start, which later became 2-5, the Sea Kings

allowed visiting Laguna Beach to go ahead, 1-0, when an errant throw on a

would-be sacrifice bunt and a subsequent fielder’s choice broke up the

shutout in the third.

The hosts then tried to give the Artists two outs with sacrifice bunts

in the home half of the third, which leads to the second parallel: They

found a way to defy the doomsayers.

Just as they had refueled postseason dreams by winning three straight

to reach the .500 mark in league (5-5), they produced a 10-run outburst

that capitalized on some Laguna mental errors (two ill-fated attempts to

get the lead runner on the aforementioned sacrifice bunts) and wild

pitching (six walks and one hit batsmen, four of which came with the

bases loaded) to seriously deflate the visiting dugout.

A third parallel: The Sea Kings then insisted on making things

slightly interesting.

Just as their three-game losing streak leading into the final week of

the regular season, put them in a seemingly hopeless position to make the

playoffs (in fifth place, two games out of third), the hosts made their

supporters, as well as Coach John Emme, sweat a somewhat shaky seventh.

Leading by nine with ace starter Nick Rhodes cooling off in the dugout

after a masterful six-inning mound stint, CdM (12-13, 7-8 in league)

watched the Artists load the bases with two walks and a hit batter. The

scene left Emme lifting off, then tugging his blue mesh hat back onto his

gray-hair-speckled head, while verbally appealing to his pitcher to

simply serve it up.

Even the final out brought drama, as Scott Youngstead’s drive to deep

right was backhanded by a retreating Wess Presson. Presson then bounced

off the fence and headed toward a mild CdM celebration, symbolically

finalizing his team’s return from the brink.

The win raised CdM into a third-place tie with Laguna Beach (13-10,

7-8). The Sea Kings gain the league’s third guaranteed playoff berth by

virtue of sweeping the three-game series with the Artists. Laguna, which

tied a school record for wins and posted its first winning season since

1963, will hope to gain an at-large playoff berth.

“This definitely makes the ups and downs of this year look a whole lot

better,” Emme said of the Sea Kings’ fifth straight trip to the

postseason. “We’ve made it to the Show.”

Rhodes put on a show Wednesday, striking out the first five hitters he

faced. He wound up with with eight strikeouts and no walks, facing five

over the minimum through six to improve to 5-6.

“Nick was dominant today,” Emme said. “He had any pitch, any time for

a strike and he was putting it anywhere he wanted it.”

Rhodes allowed only one runner past second base (the one that scored

the unearned run) and figures to get the ball in the Sea Kings’ first

playoff game, likely May 17.

Offensively, CdM did not rely solely on free passes.

Senior designated hitter Billy Eagle singled in the tying run in the

third and junior catcher Nick Karpe followed with a two-run single, a

bounder that brushed off the glove of a leaping Laguna first baseman.

Presson added a two-run single in the third, and a few of the RBI

walks featured equally impressive at-bats.

Sophomore center fielder Todd Macklin fouled off a 3-2 pitch and

showed a discerning eye to earn the walk that forced across the fourth

run.

Senior first baseman Brandon Lewis then followed with a walk, after

fouling a 3-2 fastball off his fists, for a 5-1 cushion.

Sophomore left fielder Danny Whitaker, whose speed and hustle allowed

him to beat ill-advised throws to second, then third, on consecutive

bunts to get the inning rolling, fouled off four pitches, before working

an walk that forced in the sixth run.

Sophomore second baseman Jeritt Thayer took one for the team (a

fastball on his left shoulder) for yet another RBI in the inning.

Eagle, who doubled in the first, accounted for half of the hosts’ four

hits, while all but one spot in the CdM order plated at least one run,

paced by Whitaker who scored twice.

CdM, which won the CIF Division IV crown in 1999, but is 1-2 in

playoff games since, figures to visit a seeded team in the upcoming first

round. Heading into the final week, Bishop Amat, La Quinta, St. Paul and

Monrovia occupied the top four spots, respectively, in the Division IV

poll.

“We’ll be going to someone’s house and try to shake things up a

little,” Emme said.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Corona del Mar 10, Laguna Beach 1

Laguna Beach 001 000 0 - 1 3 0

Corona del Mar 00(10) 000 x - 10 4 1

Merz, Baumer (3) and Hite; N. Rhodes, Stockstill (7) and Karpe. W - N.

Rhodes, 5-6. L - Merz. 2B - Eagle (CdM), Whalen (LB).