Baseball: No miracles for CdM this year

Tony Altobelli

ANAHEIM - It was nearly deja vu for Corona del Mar High’s baseball

team in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV

playoffs.

The last time the Sea Kings played a playoff game in Anaheim, it was at

Edison International Field, where the Sea Kings rallied with a five-run

seventh inning to win the Division IV title, 9-8, against El Segundo.

This year, the rally came up a couple runs short as CdM fell to host

Western, 7-5, Tuesday afternoon.

“For a while, I thought I was back at the Stadium,” Coach John Emme said

afterward. “I thought we were going to be able to come all the way back,

but it just wasn’t meant to be.”

CdM (14-12) fell behind, 7-0, after five innings, but managed to score a

run in the sixth and four runs in the seventh to make the game

interesting.

CdM finally got on the board in the sixth when Billy Eagle singled to

left field, went to second on an error from the Western pitcher, advanced

to third on a ground out by Eric Snell and scored on a ground out by

Keith Long.

Eagle finished the game with three hits, while Snell added a single added

a single and a double.

In the seventh, the Sea Kings took advantage of some shaky Pioneers

pitching, loading the bases on two hit batters and a walk.

Eagle’s third hit of the game, a two-out single to left, scored Wes

Hockinson, cutting the lead to, 7-2.

The big blow came off the bat of Snell, who sent a shot off the

right-field fence, scoring, Rory McKeever, Dave Knecht and Eagle,

bringing the Sea Kings to within two.

Long then battled for 12 pitches before inducing a base on balls, putting

the tying run on base.

The Pioneers, however, brought in ace pitcher Jason Zollan, who threw a

complete-game masterpiece against top-seeded La Quinta in the first

round.

Zollan struck out the lone CdM batter he faced and the game was over.

“We have come a long way this year,” Emme said. “Considering the lack of

varsity experience we had going into this season, I am happy with how we

competed this year. I’m never satisfied with losing, however, the next

seven months will really determine how well we do next year.”

Western (16-12), which scored all seven runs with two outs in the game,

jumped out early on a two-run home run off the bat of Rick Devinney, his

team-leading sixth of the season.

In the third inning, with two outs and nobody on, the Pioneers had six

batters reach base in a row with four of them scoring, making it 6-0.

The key play in that inning came with runners on second and third and the

score, 3-0. On a full count, the Sea Kings tried to surprise the

Pioneers’ runner at third with a pickoff play, but the timing between the

pitcher and third baseman was just off, causing the ball to end up behind

the third-base dugout, scoring the run.

“The runner was dead to rights,” Emme said. “We pull that play off and

the score stays at 3-0, but any time a timing play isn’t run right, bad

things can happen.”

The game even got off on the wrong foot for the Sea Kings as Alex Swanson

fouled a ball off home plate that popped him square in the nose, forcing

him to leave the game a bloody mess. He would be all right, but his high

school career ended a little earlier than he or the team would have

liked.

CdM stole one more base to end the season with 105 and with the nucleus

of the team returning for next year, there is reason for optimism.

“I feel like I felt a couple years ago,” Emme said. “We have three

seniors graduating and with a big chunk of our team returning and a lot

of young horses from the frosh-soph and JV teams, I’m very excited with

what we have. We’re locked and loaded.”

With all the young faces, Emme would like to see some intensity of Sea

Kings gone by rub off on the current crop.

“It’s the extra effort that makes champions,” Emme said. “That’s what

made Ty Harper and Eric Wiethorn and all those guys successful. Those

extra hours wearing out the batting cage outside of practice is what made

the difference. That’s what I want to see from this group.”CIF SOUTHERN

SECTION DIVISION IV PLAYOFFS

Second roundWestern 7, Corona del Mar 5

Corona del Mar 000 001 4 - 5 7 1

Western 204 010 x - 7 9 1

Martinez, Cuyler (4), Knecht (6) and McKeever; Harnden, Garza (3), Clark

(5), Zollar (7) and Devinney. W - Garza. L - Martinez, 4-7. S - Zollar.

2B - Snell (CdM), Reina (W) 2. 3B - Jackson (W). HR - Devinney (W).