Sea Kings knuckle under in first round

WESTMINSTER ? The Corona del Mar High baseball team received six solid innings from senior pitcher Eric Eadington, but the Sea King bats were sleeping as their late-season batting slumber seeped into the postseason.

The Sea Kings, who have scored just one run in the last 30 innings, managed just two hits off Brice Cutspec in their 2-0 loss to Westminster in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs on Thursday.

“There’s not much to say,” Corona del Mar Coach John Emme said. “We didn’t hit and Eric pitched a phenomenal game.”

It was a pitcher’s duel between Cutspec (5-3), a 6-foot-4, 220-pound hard-throwing right-hander, and Corona del Mar’s Eadington (4-3), a flame-throwing left-hander.

Eadington tallied eight strikeouts and four walks in his six innings of work, while giving up five hits ? all singles. Most of his strikeouts came on fastballs that tailed away from right-handed batters.

In the fourth inning, Eadington allowed a leadoff single to Michael Torres, struck out the next two right-handed batters looking on hard fastballs that started inside before tailing over the plate, then struck out Danny Tran swinging to retire the side.

The trouble for the Sea Kings started and ended in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Lions shortstop Tony Gutierrez led off with an infield single and William Montes followed with a long single to right-center field, putting runners on first and third with no outs. Eadington did not surrender any more hits the rest of the inning, but the Lions still scratched out the game’s only two runs.

Cutspec hit a hard comebacker to Eadington, who knocked it down but momentarily misplaced the ball, which came to a stop in front of the mound. By the time he found the ball, Gutierrez had scored from third. Eadington narrowly threw Cutspec out at first.

The next batter, Jason Bueker, hit a shallow fly ball to right field that was flagged down by junior Vinnie St. John. But St. John’s throw to third, prompted by Montes’ bluffing from second, skipped past third baseman Matt Doran. Montes took third on the errant throw and was awarded home by the umpires when the ball ended up in the bullpen.

St. John responded by leading off the top of the sixth inning with a screaming line drive single to center field. It marked Corona del Mar’s only solid hit of the game ? its other base hit was a single off the pitcher’s glove by senior Ryan Lance in the second inning. But the Sea Kings promptly grounded into a double play and never threatened again.

Corona del Mar went down in order in the seventh off Cutspec, who mixed a hard fastball with a sharp-breaking curve ball and an occasional knuckle ball.

“He was throwing all of his pitches for strikes, and his curve and knuckle were keeping guys off balance,” Emme said.

“Cutspec was just outstanding,” Westminster Coach Mike Kelly said. “He’s been that way for most of the year, and we’ve had a really tough schedule. He established his breaking ball early on.”

The Sea Kings, who shared the Pacific Coast League title with Santa Ana Calvary Chapel and Northwood, finished their season 17-9 overall.

“In the eyes of a lot of people, this team overachieved,” Emme said. “They’ve been a great group to coach. They can be proud of what they accomplished this year.”