Making His Mark : Lewis Is Cornerstone of El Segundo’s Infield

There are shortstops with strong arms, and shortstops with soft hands. Mark Lewis of El Segundo High has both.

But the real story to Lewis lies inside his cleats.

“Baseball people will tell you the most important skill in an infielder is his footwork,” Stevenson said. “And you’re not going to see a high school infielder with better footwork than Mark.”

Lewis, a slender senior, rarely meets a hop he doesn’t like.

He has a simple rule.

“I want to get the hop before it gets me,” Lewis said. “Some of them are easy, some of them aren’t. It’s my job to make them all easy.”

Stevenson, whose 656 victories make him California’s winningest prep baseball coach, says Lewis is the most consistent shortstop he has had in his 31-year career.

And that says a lot.

“I love to see ground balls hit to my shortstop,” Stevenson said. “You can’t win without a good shortstop, and Mark not only makes the routine plays, but he makes the above-average and the spectacular plays.”

Stevenson’s team, ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section 2-A Division, will play Santa Clara (14-6) or Morro Bay (11-11-1) in the second round of the playoffs Tuesday. El Segundo (24-3) received a bye in the first round.

As a junior last season, Lewis anchored the El Segundo infield as the Eagles went 26-5 and won the 2-A championship with a 7-4 victory over San Marino at Dodger Stadium.

This season, Stevenson calls Lewis the “glue that holds the team together.”

Not only is Lewis considered one of the finest defensive shortstops in Southern California, he also is a dangerous hitter.

A switch-hitter, Lewis is hitting .411, has scored 37 runs and has driven in 33 batting out of the second spot.

Of his 39 hits, the 5-foot-10, 155-pound Lewis has eight doubles, three triples, and five home runs.

In 117 plate appearances, Lewis has struck out only seven times.

Despite those numbers, Lewis is best known for his defense. In 27 games, Lewis has made only three errors--two of them coming in one game, a 17-7 victory over Muir.

“We like all those hits he gets, but shortstop is still a defensive position,” Stevenson said. “Some coaches don’t like offensive-minded shortstops, because they tend to bring their mistakes at the plate into the field with them. But Mark is mature enough not to do that.”

El Segundo’s infield, centered by Lewis and second baseman Eric Stevenson (the coach’s 18-year-old son), has teamed up for 23 double plays. That mark ties the school record.

Three of those double plays came in a single game--the quarterfinals of the Palos Verdes/Redondo tournament--in which Lewis showcased all his multidimensional defensive skills.

The three double plays helped ace pitcher Tate Seefried shut out Redondo, 5-0. Lewis made four spectacular plays in the first four innings of the game to help Seefried get out of jams.

In the first inning, Redondo’s Brian Davison hit a slow grounder to Stevenson, who threw the ball to Lewis for the force. But instead of accepting the single out, Lewis sailed across the bag, over the sliding Chris Townsend and made a strong throw from mid-air to double up Davison.

“On the double play, I try to get the ball on its way to first as quick as I can,” Lewis said. “I don’t want to be hanging around the bag when the guy comes flying in with his cleats.”

The next inning, with two runners on base, Redondo’s Bryan Hammons smacked a ball up the middle. But Lewis saved a run when he grabbed the ball behind second base and spun 360 degrees to retire Hammons for the final out.

Lewis ended the the next two innings by starting double plays--one of them on a tough backhand play from the hole on a sharply hit ball by Chris Kimbro.

Seefried is 7-1, but he isn’t the only El Segundo pitcher that benefits from Lewis’ defense. Jason Wayt (6-1) and Rob Croxall (9-1) are also having brilliant seasons.

Croxall, a right-hander, is bringing a string of 30 consecutive scoreless innings into the playoffs.

“I don’t even have to think twice with Mark out there,” Croxall said. “If I’m pitching and the ball is hit to Mark, it’s a given that it’s going to be an out. Sometimes I think he’s half our defense.”

Opposing coaches usually feel the same way. Camino Real League rival St. Bernard lost only six games this season, but two were to El Segundo.

“Lewis is so solid defensively that it’s almost impossible to get a ball by him,” St. Bernard Coach Bob Yarnall said. “He’s definitely the best shortstop in the area--on offense and defense. He’s the spark plug of that El Segundo team.”

Rolling Hills Coach Garry Poe has seen Lewis’ skills firsthand. Lewis attended Rolling Hills and played on Poe’s varsity as a freshman and a sophomore before transferring to El Segundo after a family move.

Lewis played second base as a ninth-grader, and Poe used a designated hitter for him in the batting order. But as a sophomore, Lewis played shortstop and had to bat for himself.

He was only 5-7, but scrappy.

“Mark’s a great kid,” Poe said. “Shortstop’s a pretty tough position to be put into at that age. But he’s really gifted, and he’s a good learner.”

Thrust onto the varsity level, Lewis took it day by day.

“It took a lot of practice,” Lewis said. “But God gave me some good hands to go along with the hard work. Not everybody has them, so I guess I’m lucky.”

And not everyone has the natural shortstop instincts that Lewis has. The middle of the infield is Lewis’ flagship, and no matter what the score, he keeps his head in the game.

In a recent game against St. Anthony, Croxall was pitching a no-hitter until Ricky Sanchez doubled to right to open the seventh.

Lewis took the cut-off throw from right, but still had the presence of mind to snap a quick throw to Stevenson, and narrowly missed catching Sanchez as he took a wide turn around second.

“I’ve been playing shortstop all my life,” he said. “So if a ball is hit toward the outfield, I just flow automatically into the spot where I’m supposed to be. After a while, you just get used to it. It’s sort of like taking a shower.”

Lewis helped lead El Segundo’s soccer team to the 2-A playoffs this season as the Eagles’ center-halfback and leading goal scorer. He was named all-Camino Real League and his team’s most valuable player.

But Lewis’ future is in baseball. He’s had some contacts from professional and college (UCLA, Long Beach State, Fresno State and Washington State) scouts. But if he is drafted in next month’s amateur draft, Lewis might bypass college entirely.

Another option for Lewis would be to attend nearby Harbor College while he gets bigger and stronger. Lewis’ older brother, Robert, is a sophomore catcher for Harbor, which is 45-5 and is the top-ranked community college in Southern California.

But Robert Lewis, who graduated from Rolling Hills in 1988, isn’t putting pressure on his younger brother to follow his footsteps through Harbor.

“We have pretty much a normal brother relationship,” Mark Lewis said. “We’d always wrestle until one of us got hurt, or our mom started yelling. Then we’d have to stop.”

But Lewis’ career could be just beginning. Stevenson said Lewis will be a blessing wherever he goes.

“Mark will end up playing shortstop next year for a very lucky team,” he said.