Prep baseball: CdM felled by Uni

IRVINE - Losing a Pacific Coast League baseball game against

University High this season could be likened to the proverbial tree that

falls in the woods.

If there’s nobody around to hear the latter, does it, the philosophical

question has been raised, make a sound?

Further, if each member of the PCL pack chasing the probable league

champion Trojans (8-3, 3-0 in league and ranked No. 5 in Orange County)

takes its lumps, doesn’t it fail to affect the race for second and third?

Corona del Mar Coach John Emme was prepared to embrace such thinking

Tuesday, after a 10-0, mercy-rule shortened, five-inning road setback

which featured just two Sea King hits.

“You certainly have to take care of business against everybody else (in

league),” Emme said.

The Sea Kings (4-5, 1-2) will get a chance to do that Friday, when they

host Costa Mesa in the first-round finale. The Sea Kings can join the

Mustangs, as well as Laguna Beach, in a three-way tie for second with a

victory.

With Friday’s game in mind, Emme had a short hook for Tuesday starter

J.D. Martinez, who was victimized by some of CdM’s six errors, before

calling it a day after three innings.

“We’ll have all the horses fresh for Friday,” said Emme, who plans to

start Cavan Cuyler on the mound, with Dave Knecht and Martinez at the

ready, should the need for relief arise.

Nick Cabico is the scheduled starting pitcher for Mesa, which lost, 12-1,

to Uni March 21.

“J.D. didn’t pitch poorly and they only had three runs,” Emme said. “In

my eyes, it could have been a 3-0 game into the fifth, when we loaded the

bases with one out. But when you don’t play catch, you’re not going to

get anything done.”

The visitors didn’t get much done against veteran Uni hurler Matt Gamble.

Gamble, who won his third decision without a loss -- including the

aforementioned conquest of Mesa, lowered his ERA 1.50 with the two-hit

shutout. It was the first blanking CdM has sustained in at least two

seasons, Emme believed.

CdM junior Wes Hockinson had a one-out double in the third and junior

Eric Snell singled for the other CdM hit.

Gamble worked out of the bases-loaded jam in the fifth by getting the

second out via strikeout, then inducing a game-ending groundout.

“We’ve been tentative at times this season and that was the case today

against the premiere team in the league,” Emme said. “We’ll be OK once we

start believing in ourselves and getting aggressive.

“The most disappointing thing about (Tuesday) was that this wasn’t a 10-0

game. I think our guys saw that we could play with them, but we

self-destructed. (Uni) is a very good team, but if we play defense, we’d

have been in the game with (the Trojans).”

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

University 10, Corona del Mar 0

Corona del Mar 000 00 - 0 2 6

University 223 3x - 10 8 0

Martinez, Snell (4) and McKeever; Gamble and Wood. W - Gamble. L - 1-3.

2B - Hockinson (CdM), Nichols (U), Conlin (U).