Corona del Mar keeps rolling

Barry Faulkner

The roster has been overhauled, new uniforms are still in the mail

and the scoreboard is in need of repair. But winning remains a

constant for the Corona del Mar High baseball program, which opened

its 2005 campaign with a 7-3 triumph Friday over visiting La Serna in

Newport Elks tournament pool play.

“That’s 18 in a row,” said a smiling CdM Coach John Emme after his

defending CIF Southern Section Division IV champions added to their

17-game win skein to conclude 2004.

Some familiar faces stood out for the hosts, including junior

starting pitcher Eric Eadington, as well as senior returners Andy

Frenkiel and Tyler Lance.

Senior third baseman Mitch Folks cashed in on his new starting

role, while junior catcher Aaron Williamson, junior reliever Matt

Hauser, and sophomore outfielder Vinnie St. John made a strong first

impression in their varsity debuts.

Eadington allowed just three hits and struck out seven in five

innings to pick up the win.

Frenkiel went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run, while Lance had a

two-run single, stole a base and scored a run.

Williamson went 2 for 3 with a home run and scored twice, Folks

went 2 for 3 with an RBI, and St. John singled, stole two bases and

scored twice.

Hauser earned the save, stranding five in two innings.

“We haven’t been real excited about our performance in practice,

so the coaches were anxious to sit back and watch how the kids

performed with the game on the line,” said Emme, who said last week

he would use the preleague season to audition newcomers for starting

jobs. “All the guys who got a shot today performed.”

Eadington, 1-0 with a 3.30 ERA last spring, showed up in style

Friday. He struck out the side in order in the first and threw

first-pitch strikes to eight of the first 10 La Serna hitters. He

appeared to tire after a strong 3 2/3 innings, issuing all four of

his walks in the final 1 1/3 .

A homer by Matt Balzano to lead off the second was the lone run

Eadington allowed through four, but an RBI double by Folks tied it in

the second and St. John followed with an RBI groundout to put the

hosts ahead for good.

Frenkiel singled in a run in the fourth to up the lead to 5-1 and

Williamson began a two-run sixth with a blast over the right-center

field fence.

Newport Elks tournament

Pool play

Corona del Mar 7,

La Serna 3

Score by Innings

*--*

LS 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 - 3 5 3

CdM 0 2 2 1 0 2 x - 7 10 1

*--*

Skinas, Bash (6) and Ma. Balzano; Eadington, Hauser (6) and

Williamson. W -- Eadington, 1-0. L -- Skinas, 0-1. Sv -- Hauser (1).

2B -- Folks (CdM). HR -- Ma. Balzano (LS), Williamson (CdM).