Baseball: Sea Kings hammer Eagles

Tony Altobelli

COSTA MESA - Christmas came early for Corona del Mar High’s

baseball team in the form of a 12-1, five-inning mercy win Friday over

Pacific Coast League host Estancia.

Four Eagles’ errors turned into six unearned runs for the Sea Kings,

leaving Estancia Coach Doug Deats searching for answers.

“We shot ourselves in the foot early,” Deats said. “Our pitchers didn’t

have very good stuff and we made way too many mistakes out there behind

them. It wasn’t an impressive performance today, that’s for sure.”

Sophomore Billy Eagle led the 10-hit CdM attack, going 2 for 3 with a run

scored and three RBIs. Freshman Keith Long and seniors Alex Swanson and

John DiCesare each drove in two, while senior Derek Loe scored three

times.

“We came out flat last game against Laguna Beach so we were determined to

come out much more aggressively,” Sea Kings’ Coach John Emme said. “We

played at a much higher level today and I thought we came out ready to

play.”

After a walk, an Eagles’ error and two stolen bases, Eagle stroked a

single into right, scoring long and Loe, giving CdM a 2-0 lead in the

first inning.

After a couple more defensive miscues, Long capped a three-run second

inning with a two-run single, scoring Swanson and Rory McKeever, making

it 5-0 with all runs unearned.

“We have to give some credit to CdM for coming up with the big hits when

it needed them,” Deats said.

Sea Kings’ starter Cavan Cuyler went the distance, allowing no earned

runs to improve to 2-0. With Cuyler keeping his pitches down, 10 of 15

Eagles’ outs came on ground balls.

“We knew Estancia likes to swing early so when Cavan got ahead early, he

was very successful. He’s got a ton of potential. It’s just a matter of

what he does with it,” CdM Coach John Emme said.

The Sea Kings, known last season for mammoth home runs, used speed to

their advantage. With four swipes Friday, CdM now has 33 stolen bases in

eight games.

“Hey, when they’re standing on second base, they look like doubles to

me,” Emme said.

Not forgetting their roots, junior Dave Knecht did slam a fifth-inning

solo home run into the Eagles’ jet stream in right field.

Junior Brent Davis and sophomore Jordan Hart had the Eagles’ lone hits,

while sophomore J.B. Goff scored the lone run.

CdM visits University Tuesday, followed by Costa Mesa at home on Friday,

with both games starting at 3 p.m.

Estancia will visit Los Angeles-based Cathedral High Tuesday in nonleague

action before resuming PCL play at University High on Friday.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Corona del Mar 12, Estancia 1

Corona del Mar 230 52 - 12 10 2

Estancia 001 00 - 1 2 4

Ortiz, Hart (4) and Davis; Cuyler and McKeever. W - Cuyler, 2-0. L -

Ortiz. 2B - Eagle (CdM). 3B - DiCesare (CdM). HR - Knecht (CdM).