CdM jumps on Tesoro early

Richard Dunn

In the beginning, the stage was set for what appeared to be doomsday

for the visitors Friday afternoon as it rained base hits for Corona

del Mar High in the first inning, producing a four-run rally against

a young team that eventually concluded with a 7-4 Pacific Coast

League baseball win over Tesoro.

The Sea Kings had two pop-ups fall untouched in no-man’s land on

both sides of the diamond as shallow left and right field played

havoc on the Titans early on.

“We jumped out on top, then [starter] Blake Contant did a good job

keeping their hitters in check,” CdM Coach John Emme said, referring

to his junior left-hander with good control who earned the victory

with five solid innings, striking out six and walking one.

Tesoro outhit CdM, 10-9, thanks to a four-hit seventh inning that

created two runs to allow the Titans to send the tying run to the

plate in the seventh against reliever Nick Rhodes, another lefty.

“It was nice getting those three runs [in the sixth] because we

really needed them,” Emme said of his team’s late outburst against

Tesoro starter Tony Trujillo, who had otherwise been sharp, and

reliever Derek Craddock, who gave up three straight hits and

committed an error on a pickoff throw to permit a runner to score

from third base.

After CdM’s four-run first inning, Trujillo retired the next seven

batters in a row and didn’t allow a hit for four consecutive innings,

or until Josh Bradbury greeted him with a double to center field to

open the sixth. Nick Karpe followed with an RBI single to

right-center field to chase Trujillo.

In the first, CdM shortstop Keith Long doubled, Bradbury walked

and Karpe doubled home Long. Bradbury scored on a fielder’s choice

off Todd Macklin’s bat, then Barrett Sprowl blooped a double to right

field to put runners on second and third. Wess Presson followed with

a bloop single to left to scored two runs and up the lead to 4-0.

“We had some nice clutch hits by Karpe and Sprowl, and Macklin

swung the bat well,” said Emme, whose team [6-4, 3-2 in league] was

picked by the PCL coaches as the favorite to win the title, and has

won two straight since a mild “hiccup” earlier in the PCL campaign.

Tesoro’s Curtis Hill ruined Contant’s shutout bid in the third

when he opened with a single to center, moved to third on Craddock’s

single and scored on a fielder’s choice. Contant ended the inning by

striking out cleanup hitter Eric Hamren looking at a backdoor

breaking ball. Contant finished a 1-2-3 fourth inning the same way

against Shane Keough, the son of former CdM standout [Class of ‘73]

and major league pitcher Matt Keough.

Tesoro scored an unearned run in the fifth, but the Sea Kings’

three-run sixth build their lead to 7-2.

“They’re a young team with all freshmen and sophomores. They have

only three juniors,” Emme said of the Titans, who made a lot of noise

in the seventh, before Rhodes punched out Sam Lew for the game’s

final out with runners on second and third.

*--*

Pacific Coast League

CdM 7, Tesoro 4

Score by Innings

Tesoro 001 010 2 -- 4 10 2

CdM 400 003 x -- 7 9 1

Trujillo, Craddock (6) and Piptone;

Contant, Rhodes (6) and Marin-Finn. W --

Contant, 2-1. L -- Trujillo. 2B -- Long

(CdM), Bradbury (CdM), Karpe (CdM), Sprowl

(CdM), Keough (T), Anderton (T)

*--*