Prep baseball: Sea Kings battle Pioneers

Barry Faulkner

ANAHEIM - The Corona del Mar High baseball team went at least a

decade without winning a CIF Southern Section playoff game, before

running the table last spring en route to the CIF Division IV

championship.

Now, following a 17-0 first-round romp over Cathedral Friday, Coach John

Emme’s Sea Kings (14-11) have won six straight postseason contests.

The’ll hope to extend that streak today at 3:15 p.m. at Western (15-12),

which upset top-seeded La Quinta, 6-3, in Friday’s first round.

CdM’s first-round effort, which included 15 hits, was its biggest

single-game run production of the season.

The Sea Kings, who hit 77 home runs the previous two springs combined,

have just 12 this season.

Speed, not power, is the primary offensive weapon at Emme’s disposal.

Including five thefts against Cathedral, the Sea Kings have stolen 104

bases this season, including 29 by senior leadoff man Alex Swanson.

Swanson has been caught only once.

Sophomore center fielder Billy Eagle has 17 steals, junior Dave Knecht

16, junior Andrew Johns 10 and senior John DiCesare nine.

Eagle, who started as a freshman on last year’s section champion, is the

leading hitter this spring. He is hitting .429 with a team-high 17 RBIs

from the No. 3 hole.

Johns, a first baseman, is hitting .368 with 15 RBIs, while DiCesare

(.354 with 11 RBIs), junior third baseman Eric Snell (.353 with 12 RBIs),

junior second baseman Wes Hockinson (.339 with 13 RBIs) and designated

hitter Knecht (.338 with 13 RBIs) are additional catalysts.

Junior right-hander Cavan Cuyler has led the pitching corps. He pitched

four shutout innings Friday, allowing just one hit and using only 43

pitches. That victory upped his record to 6-2 and lowered his ERA to

2.87.

Junior right-hander J.D. Martinez (4-6 with a 4.41 ERA) and Knecht, a

lefty with a 1-3 record and a 3.73 ERA, have also been Emme’s primary

mound men.

CdM has outscored opponents, 21-0, over the last two games, having

clinched the playoff spot with a 4-0 triumph over Costa Mesa to end the

Pacific Coast League campaign.

The Sea Kings, who tied for second in the PCL, will face a Western team

with a nice balance of pitching and hitting.

The Pioneers, who failed to three-peat as Orange League champions only

because they lost several close games, according to first-year coach

Steve Green, have some impressive wins.

In addition to their victory over La Quinta, the Orange League’s

third-place representative knocked off Lakewood, ranked No. 1 in CIF

Division I at the time, and league rival Valencia, which spent time in

the Orange County top 10.

Green said the Pioneers have three solid senior pitchers, including Jason

Zollan, who went the distance against La Quinta to improve to 7-1. His

regular-season ERA was 1.54 with 65 strikeouts in 59 innings.

Jordan Clark (3-2 with a 2.50 ERA in 42 innings) is another option for

Green, who took over the program the day before the season started.

Junior catcher Rick Devinney is hitting .433 with five homers and 24

RBIs, all team highs, out of the cleanup spot.

Western’s additional big sticks include: junior shortstop Kyle Stanley

(.424), junior first baseman Andre Branda (.410, including a solo homer

and three RBIs against La Quinta); sophomore right fielder Gabe Reyna

(.350); junior second baseman Daniel Jorgensen (.370); and senior

outfielder Will Ruffin (.300), who was All-CIF in football last fall.