CdM’s Macklin hurt, likely done for year

The Corona del Mar High baseball team, unbeaten in the Pacific Coast

League and ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division IV, will

likely be without the services of talented senior pitcher and hitter

Todd Macklin for the rest of the season.

The USC-bound Macklin, who is 9-1 with a 3.02 ERA and 65

strikeouts in 53 1/3 innings this spring, experienced soreness in his

right pitching elbow after Tuesday’s victory over Calvary Chapel. He

has been told by his doctor not to throw for at least two weeks, CdM

Coach John Emme said.

Emme said it is unlikely Macklin, who is still awaiting the

results of tests performed on the elbow, will pitch or even hit the

rest of the way. CdM, which many believe is a CIF championship

contender, enters this week 18-5, 13-0 in league.

Macklin, who was 6-2 with one save and a 2.03 ERA as a junior, has

compiled a .286 batting average this spring, with five home runs and

13 RBIs in only 35 at-bats.

Emme said Macklin’s starting pitching spot could be filled by

committee, but one successor could emerge from two games against

Northwood (today at CdM and Wednesday on the Timberwolves’ diamond).

Potential replacements include Eric Eadington (1-0 with a 3.00 ERA

in 14 innings) and Ben Maggard (1-0 with a 4.40 ERA in 14 1/3

innings), but Emme said other candidates exist.

Though disappointed, Emme is still optimistic about the upcoming

CIF playoff run.

“This is one of the top two hitting teams I’ve had here, it’s by

far the best fielding team I’ve had, and we have a lot of good arms,”

the seventh-year coach said. “We wish we could have Todd, but I think

we can get up, wipe ourselves off and still take care of business.”

The playoffs begin next week.

-- Barry Faulkner

Anteaters sweep Cal Poly

* BASEBALL: UC Irvine erased a 10-6 deficit with six ninth-inning

runs, then broke a tie in the 12th to claim a crucial 13-12 Big West

Conference baseball victory at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Sunday.

The Anteaters (31-13-1, 8-7 in conference) trailed, 5-0, 7-3 and

9-4, but plated six unearned runs to take a ninth-inning lead.

Cal Poly (33-22-1, 5-10) rallied to tie off UCI closer Blair

Erickson, who failed to add to his nation-leading 15 saves.

UCI plated the game-winner when R.J. Brown and Mark Brown singled

to open the 12th. After a Gary Dudrey sacrifice bunt, Brown scored on

David Kennedy’s sacrifice fly.

Chris Nicoll closed out the victory, which kept UCI within a game

of third-place UC Riverside with six conference games left.

Wagner went 4 for 7 and Jordan Szabo had three hits in the 5-hour,

10-minute contest.

Whelan hits NCAA mark

* TRACK AND FIELD: UC Irvine sophomore Tom Whelan qualified for

the NCAA west regional in the 1,500 meters with a fifth-place time of

3:46.94 at the Oxy track and field invitational in Eagle Rock

Saturday night.

Whelan had just missed the qualifying time of 3:48.21 at Mt. SAC

three weeks earlier.

Sophomore Ricky Barnes came up just shy of a regional berth in the

1,500, finishing seventh in 3:48.59.

Senior Tessa Cendejas was fourth in the women’s 1,500 in a

season-best 4:32.79.

In action at the Northridge open meet Saturday, junior Kimberly

Harper won the high jump (5 feet, 6 inches), junior Erin Curtis won

the pole vault (12-11 1/2), senior Lina Pimentel was third in the 400

hurdles (1:05.03) and junior Erin Hill was fourth in the 400 in

59.61.

For the Anteater men at Northridge, freshman Dayne Comrie won the

200 in 21.74 and senior Elias Moreno was fourth in 22.22.

Junior Michael McEachron was second in the 400 in 48.48 and

freshman Storm Huie was fourth in 49.54.

Junior Kenny Vinh finished second in the 400 hurdles in 57.07,

senior Weston Motoyasu was third in the high jump (6-6 3/4), senior

Derek Kingrey was fourth in the discus throw (154-0) and junior Joe

Lourenco was fifth in the long jump (23-4).

UCI won the men’s 1,600 relay in a season-best 41.17.

The Big West Conference championships will be held at UCI’s

Anteater Stadium this week.