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).
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