Corona del Mar falls to Beckman again

IRVINE — The glaring difference between the Corona del Mar and Beckman high school baseball teams this week was one made the routine play and the other struggled with it.

Defense proved to be the Sea Kings’ demise for the second time in three days against the defending Pacific Coast League champion Patriots. This time, CdM’s miscues came early, rather than later.

Three infield errors allowed Beckman to score twice in the first inning on Thursday, two days after an error in the outfield led to Beckman breaking a scoreless tie in the eighth and winning the extra-inning affair, 2-0, at CdM.

The Patriots almost quadrupled their run total from the other day, recording a 7-1 win at home to ensure they remained undefeated in league.

Beckman, ranked No. 2 in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 poll, improved to 5-0 in league, the same mark Jack Wiese has now as a pitcher. The senior right-hander went the distance, striking out four, allowing three hits and walking two.

“This was a big win for us,” said Wiese, whose curveball and changeup were effective. “We really wanted to beat these guys.”

The only hard-hit ball by No. 4 CdM (8-2, 3-2 in league) was Wiese’s first offering in the sixth inning. USC commit Preston Hartsell ended Wiese’s shutout bid by belting a home run that landed in the bullpen, behind the right-field fence.

Retrieving the home-run ball has been the most work the bullpen has had this week. The Patriots (11-1 overall) haven’t had to go to their bullpen during the two games with CdM. Wiese and Tuesday’s winner, left-hander Will Cohen, have only given up one run in 15 innings to the Sea Kings.

Cohen tossed an eight-hitter, and Wiese followed that up by giving up less than half that amount of hits. Wiese needed 82 pitches, 21 fewer than Cohen, who went eight innings.

The two picked up wins facing a lineup featuring players committed to UCLA, USC and Cal State Fullerton. The Sea Kings started two standouts, senior Evan Larsen in the first game and sophomore Chazz Martinez in the second game.

The defense didn’t do Martinez any favors in the first inning. His third pitch to leadoff hitter Connor Fidone, a San Francisco State-bound senior, induced a grounder to second baseman Robby Hurst, who didn’t field it correctly. The next pitch by Martinez went to UCLA commit Matt McLain, who tried to move Fidone into scoring position, and he accomplished more than that. He laid down a sacrifice bunt down the third-base line, and Reece Berger made an errant throw, putting runners on the corners for Tyler Geurts.

Geurts hit into a double play, but Fidone, who scored the game’s first run in the eight-inning affair with CdM, made it home to put Beckman up, 1-0.

Two pitches later, Martinez induced a grounder to shortstop JT Schwartz. The UCLA commit rushed his throw to first to get Austin Schell, and it wound up too low for first baseman Nick Premer to handle.

Schell wound up at second. Jake Groves knocked Schell in with a double to left field, after Hartsell’s diving attempt came up short. Just like that the Patriots took a 2-0 lead, something it took them eight innings to do on Tuesday.

“We came in and sort of buried ourselves. I mean, those are routine plays that we have to make,” Sea Kings Coach John Emme said, referring to the first inning. “We have to make the routine plays. That’s the problem is that we’re, you know, spotting them runs, and you can’t spot these guys runs. We don’t have to be perfect, but we got to cut down the mistakes.”

The gaffes gave CdM no shot at ending its losing skid to Beckman. The Patriots have won 13 in a row against the Sea Kings.

The next time they meet will be on May 6, at CdM. Either Larsen or Martinez will take the mound, in hopes of helping CdM knock off Beckman for the first time in four years.

Martinez (2-1) lasted only two innings, giving up five earned runs and six hits. The Patriots jumped on the southpaw in the second, scoring five runs. Fidone singled in the first run, and then with the bases loaded, Martinez hit Schell, the second straight batter he plunked, to make it 4-0 Beckman.

Groves cleared the bases with his second double to left field, this one off the base of the wall. Groves, who went two for three with four runs batted in, pretty much put the game away early.

Even though the Patriots failed to score in the next four innings they batted, reliever lefty Tommy Paoletti shut them down, the hosts go into spring break next week atop the league. First is where the Patriots have finished in each of the previous two years.

“It’s a good position to be in,” said Beckman Coach Kevin Lavalle, whose team has four home games in the Beach Pit Classic, the tournament CdM is also playing host to, starting on Saturday. “We’ll treasure this, or cherish this, or enjoy this, and play four spring break games that matter toward our [overall] record. Then we’ll get right back after it in league. The season goes by fast. We’re not counting magic numbers yet.”

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Pacific Coast League

Beckman 7, Corona del Mar 1

SCORE BY INNINGS

CdM 000 001 0 – 1 3 3

Beckman 250 000 x – 7 8 0

Martinez, Paoletti (3) and Di Ferdinando; Wiese and Schell. W – Wiese, 5-0. L – Martinez, 2-1. 2B – Groves (BM) 2, Lajoie (BM). HR – Hartsell (CdM).