Sea Kings breeze to win

Bryce Alderton

Friday’s afternoon heat enveloped Corona del Mar High’s baseball

field, but Sea King senior Ben Maggard remained as cool as the

occasional sea breeze off the Pacific Ocean.

La Serna had runners in scoring position in six innings, but

Maggard, the Sea Kings’ ace, with the help of his defense, turned

away the Lancers each time and CdM opened its CIF Southern Section

Division III playoff run with a 3-0 first-round victory.

The right-handed Maggard scattered six hits, struck out four and

walked two -- both in the first inning -- in his third shutout this

season. He improved to 6-3 and helped the Sea Kings (17-9), Division

IV champions last season, snap a three-game losing streak.

CdM, runner-up in the Pacific Coast League, faces Orange, a 5-4

winner over Don Lugo, in the second round at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday. The

site will be determined by a coin flip.

As Friday’s game progressed, Maggard helped eliminate any

guesswork that might have surrounded his next pitch.

“Every time we were in trouble, Ben threw strikes,” CdM senior

catcher Wess Presson said.

Maggard fought through some early difficulties with his curveball,

but regained sufficient control to record 10 groundouts.

“I was trying to keep it low, throw strikes and hit my spots,”

said Maggard, a second-year varsity player. “I wasn’t too nervous. It

was great the defense did that well today.”

La Serna (14-12) had the tying run at the plate in the top of the

seventh with two outs.

The Lancers’ Mike Balderman, who had broken up Maggard’s bid for a

second no-hitter this season with a one-out single in the fourth,

ripped a shot to deep center.

But senior center fielder Tyler Ray -- at a full sprint -- reached

with his glove hand to snare the fly ball mere steps from the fence.

La Serna left 11 runners on base, seven in the final three

innings.

In contrast, the Sea Kings stranded four against La Serna senior

right-handed ace Brandon Skinas, who went the distance and allowed

five hits and two earned runs.

“[Skinas] threw the breaking ball and any time you can do that, it

makes it tough,” CdM Coach John Emme said. “We put a few good swings

on it in clutch situations.”

Skinas had several Sea Kings reaching for first-pitch breaking

balls.

Patience was needed.

CdM’s 1-2-3 hitters ripped three straight two-out hits in the

third to take a 2-0 lead. Senior Andy Frenkiel and sophomore

shortstop Jake Lemmerman rifled back-to-back doubles to left-center

field -- Lemmerman’s brought in Frenkiel.

Up stepped Presson and, on a 3-2 pitch, he jolted a knee-high

fastball up the middle to plate Lemmerman.

Presson said Skinas threw him all off-speed pitches prior to the

fastball in the aforementioned at-bat.

“I was expecting off-speed,” Presson said.

Ray doubled to lead off the fourth and went to third on senior

Taylor Alston’s single to right. On the hit, Alston sped for second

on the throw home from the outfield. But Lancer catcher Matt Balzano

threw a strike to shortstop Sergio Arambula, who tagged out a sliding

Alston.

Then came something rare for CdM -- a suicide squeeze.

On an 0-1 pitch, Ray sprinted for home and junior Andrew

Williamson laid a deftly-placed bunt that stalled on the grass in

front of the plate. Skinas raced in, but couldn’t grip the ball in

time, allowing Ray to score.

“That’s the first successful squeeze in my eight-year history [as

coach],” Emme said. “We’re 1 for 2.”

A La Serna runner reached third base in the third, fifth and sixth

innings. The Lancers had the bases loaded in the sixth with two outs,

but Maggard induced a groundout to Lemmerman.

La Serna had first and third with one out in the third, but

Presson threw out Matt Petropulos trying to steal -- senior second

baseman Mitch Folks applied the tag. Skinas, the next batter,

grounded to Lemmerman, whose throw to first drew senior Tyler Lance

off the bag. But Lance speared the throw and tagged Skinas.

Lemmerman, Presson and Frenkiel all finished 1 for 3 while Ray was

1 for 2 with a walk

CIF Division III

First round

Corona del Mar 3,

La Serna 0

Score by Innings

*--*

La Serna 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 6 1

CdM 0 0 2 1 0 0 x - 3 5 2

*--*

Skinas and Mt. Balzano; Maggard and Presson. W -- Maggard, 6-3. L

-- Skinas, 3-4. 2B -- Frenkiel (CdM), Lemmerman (CdM), Ray (CdM).