CdM surges to section round

Rick Devereux

Impressive offensive and defensive performances by the Corona del Mar

Pony All-Star team led to a 20-1 domination of Laguna Niguel in five

innings Saturday at the Los Alamitos Youth Baseball Field in the

District 1 West zone-South division semifinals.

CdM, which clinched a berth in the section tournament with the

win, will play for the district championship Tuesday at 7 p.m.

against either Los Alamitos Red or La Mirada.

CdM was able to take an early lead thanks to a leadoff walk by

Scott Thomsen, who stole second, advanced to third on a fielder’s

choice and scored on a double steal.

CdM added to the lead in the third inning when Mitch Sands walked,

stole second and scored on Danny Moskovits’ single to right.

Pitcher Steven Manning blazed through the Laguna Niguel lineup,

striking out nine batters, including six straight in the second and

third innings.

“I was just thinking to not let it bother me if someone got on

base and just focus on the batter,” Manning said. “Everyone played

well, though. Good defense definitely helps.”

Laguna only had two hits get past the infield and a third that

ricocheted off third base for a hit. Manning induced two groundouts

and one popup to first base.

CdM gave Manning major run support with a 13-run fourth inning

that saw 16 batters step to the plate.

The first five batters reached base before an out was recorded.

Then, the next eight CdM batters reached base before Laguna was able

to stop the bleeding. Laguna committed three errors in the inning.

Craig Jackson was 1 for 1 with three RBIs and two runs scored in

that inning alone. He finished 1 for 2 with three runs scored and

three RBIs.

CdM had the bases loaded seven times in the inning. Kyle Hill and

Thomsen had back-to-back triples in the inning as well. Thomsen had

two RBIs in the inning, en route to a game-high four RBIs in the

contest.

CdM added to the lead in the fifth inning when Manning roped a

double down the right-field line, followed by a two-run home run by

pinch-hitter Kendal Pick over the left-field fence.

CdM scored three more runs when Thomsen, with the bases loaded and

one out, hit a hard line drive that bounced off the first baseman’s

chest, allowing two runs to score. Thomsen got caught in a pickle

between first and second base when the ball was recovered, but that

left home plate defenseless, allowing Hill to score.

Camden Nicholson, Matt Morris and William Ham also contributed for

CdM.

* In other Pony All-Star action Saturday:

Newport Harbor secured an 11-1 victory over Laguna Niguel Saturday

at Los Alamitos to advance to the District 1 West zone-South division

consolation championship, which will be held Tuesday at 4:30.

Costa Mesa’s 14-year-old team fell to 0-2 and was eliminated from

the district tournament following a 10-8 loss to Los Alamitos

Saturday at York Field.

Further details of both games will appear in Monday’s paper.