Thomsen ignites Corona del Mar

Chris Yemma

What appeared initially to be a lock for the Corona del Mar Pony

baseball team turned into a rather interesting contest Thursday at

Los Alamitos Youth Baseball field.

But the only statistic that truly counts in the end is the final

score, and Corona del Mar came out ahead in that category, 8-7,

against Irvine in the first round of the District 1 West zone-South

division All-Star tournament.

A CdM slugfest turned into an Irvine slugfest after about a

20-minute break in the bottom of the first inning when the home-plate

umpire took a one-hop pitch to the throat, forcing him to call

timeout as he fell to the ground, hunched over and gagging.

Paramedics were called, but the umpire recovered before they

arrived.

“I think the timeout injury with the umpire got us out of our

adrenaline rush,” CdM Coach Tim Scott said. “It took the emotional

high out of our sails and we became complacent.”

Holding a 3-1 advantage with the bases loaded and just one out,

the ump was hit by the pitch, forcing the timeout. He stayed in the

game. A strikeout and groundout quickly ensued after play was resumed

and the inning was ended with three runners stranded.

Corona del Mar carried the last of its momentum into the second

inning and scored four runs to hold a 7-1 lead, but Irvine rallied

with a five-run third inning and Robert Garay scored for Irvine to

tie it in the fifth.

In need of a hero to break the tie, Danny Moskovits stepped up for

CdM in the bottom of the sixth.

Mitch Sands led off with a grounder to right-center, good for a

base hit. And with the score deadlocked at 7, Moskovits ripped a

chopper just over third base that rolled into the left corner of the

field. Sands scored from first and Moskovits reached second.

“I was hoping [Sands] would be able to score and he did, so I was

happy,” Moskovits said. “It was important for us to win this one so

we could advance.”

Pitcher Matt Morris resumed his effectiveness on the mound in the

top of the seventh and retired the side for the victory.

“The first game of a tournament, you have to win or it’s a long

road,” Scott said. “This was a must win for us.”

Corona del Mar’s slugging was fueled by Scott Thomsen, who went 4

for 4 with a double and two runs scored. Steven Manning was 2 for 2

in his first two at-bats, tallying four RBIs.

Camden Nicholson accounted for an RBI and two runs scored, while

Sands scored three runs, Moskovits nailed his RBI and scored a run

and Kendall Pick drove in a run.

It was Thomsen’s consistency that kept CdM’s early hitting alive.

“I actually have been working on my swing,” Thomsen said. “I

really got focused. This was one of my better [outings] for sure.”

Thomsen led off the bottom of the first with a single down the

middle. Both Nicholson and Sands followed with walks to load the

bases with no one out.

A strikeout followed but then Manning drilled a bases-clearing

double that plopped a few feet inside the right foul line, giving CdM

a 3-1 lead.

The bottom of the second mirrored the first, as Thomsen, Nicholson

and Sands all reached base and eventually scored.

Morris pitched the final four innings for CdM, striking out six

and allowing just one hit and one unearned run. He retired the side

in the fourth and seventh innings.