CdM to visit Lions

The Corona del Mar High baseball team will open the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs at Westminster High Thursday at 3 p.m.

Coach John Emme’s Sea Kings (17-8) are making their ninth straight trip to the playoffs. They won CIF Division IV titles under Emme in 1999 and 2004.

This season, the Sea Kings earned one-third of the Pacific Coast League title, the third time in the last four seasons CdM has won or shared the league crown.

CdM, however, was relegated to the league’s No. 3 playoff spot, prompting a first-round road game against the Lions (13-15), who shared the Golden West League title with Ocean View.

The Sea Kings lost three straight to end the regular season. They are led by senior pitchers Eric Eadington and Matt Hauser, as well as junior offensive standouts Jake Lemmerman and Vinnie St. John.

Eadington, bound for Harvard, is 4-2 with a 1.87 earned-run average in 52 1/3 innings.

Hauser is 5-2 with a 1.94 ERA.

Lemmerman is hitting .439 with a team-leading four home runs and 25 RBIs.

St. John, hitting .392, has a team-high 16 steals.

If victorious, CdM would meet either Gahr (17-8-1) or Lancaster (16-8) in Tuesday’s second round.