Bryce AldertonThe Northwood High baseball team gave...

Bryce Alderton

The Northwood High baseball team gave visiting Corona del Mar all it

could handle, but, in the end, met the same destiny as every other

Pacific Coast League foe in a historic run.

First baseman Barrett Sprowl’s catch of Jeff Rothman’s pop-up gave

CdM a 5-4 victory over host Northwood Wednesday and a perfect 15-0

league record.

The Sea Kings have won 18 straight PCL contests.

“Fifteen-and-0, can’t do any better than that,” said CdM junior

Wess Presson, who went 1 for 3 with a run scored and two RBIs. “It’s

always fun to play [the Timberwolves] because we don’t really get

along. It’s a good one to end on.”

CdM (20-5), ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division IV, took

a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the seventh, but Northwood kept senior

starting pitcher Blake Contant, and his defense, on its toes.

Max Nikolenko hit the second of his two doubles with one out, but

Contant induced Tim Carrier to ground out and got Rothman on the

aforementioned pop.

“I was a little nervous, but I was confident on the hill and

confident in my team,” said Contant, a left-hander who struck out

three and allowed eight hits in an 85-pitch effort to improve to 8-2.

“Blake didn’t have his best stuff, but in a one-run game, we were

going to win or lose with him on the hill,” CdM Coach John Emme said.

“I liked his tenacity.”

Contant appeared to struggle to controle his curveball, but he

exhibited control of his other pitches. He did not walk a batter and

had only one three-ball count. Contant induced 13 flyouts.

“If you are going to put the cherry on top of the ice cream, this

is a nice way to do it. This is a great team win,” Emme said.

The Sea Kings trailed, 3-2, heading into the sixth, but

capitalized on a Northwood error and some alert baserunning to regain

the lead for good.

Sprowl, leading off the sixth, reached when the pitcher failed to

cover first on a ground ball to the right side. Emme inserted Mitch

Folks to pinch run for Sprowl and he stole second without a throw on

ball three to Presson.

After eight pitches, Presson ripped a single into center field to

score Folks with the tying run and took second when the throw sailed

home.

Tyler Lance was hit by a pitch following a strikeout and both he

and Presson took second when Danny Marin-Finn grounded into a

fielder’s choice for the second out.

The stage was set and freshman Jake Lemmerman fisted an inside

fastball into left field to score Presson and Lance, giving CdM a 5-3

cushion.

“[Lemmerman’s] hit was special,” Emme said. “That was a nice job

of hitting.”

Both teams tallied eight hits, but CdM capitalized on more of its

chances, Northwood Coach Rob Stuart said.

“CdM is a very good offensive team,” Stuart said. “We haven’t

faced too many teams that hit the ball in crucial situations. We gave

away too many opportunities and you can’t give CdM three or four free

passes.”

The Sea Kings took a 2-0 lead into the fourth, but Northwood

(16-10, 8-7) responded with three in the inning, capped by a Tim

Radack’s two-run home run to right.

Rothman led off the eighth with a home run to right, cutting the

CdM lead to 5-4. Radack nearly hit the next pitch to the warning

track in left, where Nik Palchikoff hauled it in for the out.

Contant said he wasn’t fazed by the three-run fourth.

“I take the other fans cheering their team to my advantage,”

Contant said. “It gave me motivation to shut them down. I knew my

team would come through with the runs.”

Presson’s sacrifice fly scored Andy Frankiel to give CdM a 1-0

lead in the first and Josh Bradbury doubled and scored on Sprowl’s

single in the third.

Stuart, whose Timberwolves finished third in league, getting the

final automatic CIF berth, said CdM is in an elite class of teams.

“They are better than all the other teams we’ve played this year,

no doubt about it,” Stuart said.

Northwood has faced powers Capistrano Valley, Foothill, Riverside

Poly and Valencia of Valencia. Capo Valley and Riverside Poly are

ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in Division I.

“It’s a neat way to end league,” Stuart said of CdM’s undefeated

run. “[Emme] wins with class and you don’t see that all the time.”

CdM will host a first-round CIF playoff game May 21.

*--*

Pacific Coast League

Corona del Mar 5, Northwood 4

Score by Innings

CdM 101 003 0 -- 5 8 2

N’wood 000 301 0 -- 4 8 1

Contant and Presson, Marin-Finn (5);

Kuykendall, Haselton (7) and Bruns. W --

Contant, 8-2. L -- Kuykendall, 7-3. 2B --

Nikolenko (NW) 2, Rothman (NW), Kuykendall

(NW), Bradbury (CdM). HR -- Rothman (NW),

Radack (NW).

*--*