Prep baseball: CdM draws No. 3-seeded St. Paul

Barry Faulkner

On the heels of four straight postseason appearances in his first

four years at the helm, Corona del Mar High Coach John Emme said before

this season he’d be a fool if he didn’t list making the CIF Southern

Section Division IV baseball playoffs as one of the Sea Kings’ goals.

Emme and his players have since made fools of those who counted the

Sea Kings out, particularly after they opened the Pacific Coast League

season 0-3 and later found themselves 2-5.

CdM won five of its final eight PCL contests, including a two-game

sweep of Laguna Beach last week, to tie Laguna Beach and Costa Mesa for

third. The defending PCL champions gained the league’s third guaranteed

playoff spot by virtue of a better combined record against Mesa and

Laguna.

The Sea Kings (12-13) will hope to extend their rise from the ashes

Friday, when they visit No. 3-seeded St. Paul (21-7)

for a first-round clash at 3:15 p.m.

Costa Mesa (13-13) was not awarded one of three at-large berths in

Division IV when the pairings were announced at the section office

Monday.

The Sea Kings, CIF Division IV champions in 1999, lost in the first

round last season, a 4-3 heartbreaker against Ocean View that went 12

innings.

Including a second-round loss in 2000, Emme’s charges are 1-2 in the

postseason, since running the table to capture the program’s second

section title in ’99.

The Sea Kings carry some momentum into Friday’s contest, having

outscored Laguna Beach a combined 31-8 in their final two regular-season

outings.

The late surge, as well as back-to-back conquests of 18-1 and 23-4

against Estancia the second round of league, allowed the Sea Kings to

outscore opponents, 159-156, on the season.

CdM is paced by two-time All-CIF performer Billy Eagle, a UCLA-bound

senior entering his fourth varsity postseason. Eagle, a sterling center

fielder relegated to designated hitter duties all season due to a

strained right (throwing) elbow, leads Sea King regulars with a .377

batting average (29 for 77). His four homers also top the rest of the

squad combined (three), he has scored a team-high 24 runs and his 21 RBIs

are second on the team.

Junior catcher Nick Karpe, a Mater Dei transfer, is hitting .372 and

leads the Sea Kings in hits (32), RBIs (29) and doubles (eight). He is

also among three CdM hitters with one home run.

Freshman outfielder Wess Presson (.356), sophomore outfielder Danny

Whitaker (.333) and junior third baseman Josh Bradbury (.324) have also

been offensive weapons for the Sea Kings this spring.

The CdM mound corps is led by junior Nick Rhodes, who figures to get

the start against the Swordsmen. Rhodes enters his second postseason with

10 varsity wins, after posting a 5-6 record with a 3.80 ERA this season.

He has 57 strikeouts and just 15 walks in just more than 66 innings this

spring, including a three-hitter over six innings in his final

regular-season start May 8.

Junior shortstop Keith Long, a three-year varsity veteran, and

sophomore center fielder Todd Macklin are the other two Sea Kings with

home runs this season.

St. Paul, meanwhile, had outscored opponents, 223-104, heading into

its Del Rey League finale against Bishop Amat, the league champion and

No. 1 seed in Division IV.

Coach Patrick Fitzsimons’ Swordsmen have a pair of quality pitchers in

sophomore Steve Salas and senior Houston Hernandez.

Salas, also the team’s top hitter, is 6-1 with a 1.76 ERA and two saves in nearly 52 innings. He has fanned 36 and walked 27. Salas is

hitting .500 (37 for 74) with four homers and 32 RBIs.

Hernandez is 5-2 with a 3.61 ERA and is also hitting .456 (36 for 79)

with one homer and 19 RBIs.

The CdM-St. Paul winner will advance to face either San Jacinto or

Bonita in the second round May 21.

Costa Mesa Coach Kirk Bauermeister was disappointed, but understanding

of his team’s failure to secure an at-large berth.

“I wish we were preparing for another game, because our seniors

battled all year,” Bauermeister said. “We lost some close games, but we

had our chances. A pitch here, or there, and things could have been

different. We had two games where we thought we had a guy struck out for

the final out and the next guy up won the game (for the opponent), but

that’s just the nature of the game. I think the three (Division IV)

at-large teams (Servite, Bonita and San Luis Obispo) are all quality

programs which were all very deserving.”