Alumni comes to support

CORONA DEL MAR — Last year, at John Emme’s wedding, the Corona del Mar High baseball coach received a surprise visit from some of his former players.

Parker Ferguson, Barrett Sprowl, Nick Palchikoff and Blake Contant, players from the Sea Kings’ 2004 CIF Southern Section Division IV championship team, were among other almuni who went to see their former coach tie the knot.

That just made the day all the more better for Emme.

“That meant everything to me,” Emme said. “The beauty of those kids is that one of them called the day before the wedding and said, ‘Can we crash your wedding?’ ”

The CdM baseball alumni came to see their coach again Tuesday. The Sea Kings fell behind early. Their six-game winning streak ended at home, as they lost, 9-3, to visiting South Hills of West Covina. But there was plenty of support from the crowd, namely the CdM baseball alumni that showed up for the CIF Southern Section Division III semifinal.

Ferguson and Contant were there, as were Josh Bradbury, Eric Eadington, Jake Lemmerman and Dan Marin-Finn, who also played on the 2004 team, considered by many the best in school history — it went 25-5, 15-0 in the Pacific Coast League. They were there to support their coach and his program.

Ty Harper and Mark Hatfield, players from Emme’s 1999 CIF Southern Section Division IV championship team, also came to the game.

“That means the world to me, when those kids come on the field after the game and we hug each other,” Emme said. “That’s really what this whole thing is all about.”

Emme wasn’t aware that Hatfield was in attendance, but he said he was thinking about him and the rest of that 1999 team when the 2009 Sea Kings were down, 9-3, in the bottom of the seventh.

CdM trailed, 8-4, in its last at-bat in the 1999 CIF championship game. But Hatfield scored the game-winning run to cap the Sea Kings’ comeback against third-seeded El Segundo.

CdM, the fourth seed, beat top-seeded La Quinta to reach the title game.

Emme was only in his second year. Now he just completed his 12th year. He has built many friendships. Tuesday was a reunion of sorts.

“It feels good because there was a lot of turnover there for a long time,” Emme said of CdM before he was hired. “Being there for awhile and creating history and having the kids come back is what makes a program.”