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Chaminade’s Corcoran Undressed by Notre Dame, 12-4

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Had Ted Corcoran been allowed to keep his shirt on, it might have made a difference on a cold and gloomy afternoon.

But the Chaminade High left-hander was ordered to remove his short-sleeved undershirt seconds before his first pitch of the game Friday, and the Notre Dame Knights shook him for 10 of their 12 hits en route to a 12-4 victory in a Mission League opener at Chaminade.

The Knights (5-0), whose only league loss last year was to Chaminade, took a 4-0 lead in the first inning and were not really threatened by the Eagles (3-2).

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“I would call this the worst outing in my two years here at Chaminade,” Chaminade Coach George Vranau said. “We weren’t mentally prepared to play today and Notre Dame was. Talent alone is not enough to play this game.”

Corcoran (1-2), who threw 126 pitches in six innings, had control problems from the start. Shortly after an umpire told him to take off the white T-shirt that was barely visible--no white garment may show past the end of the uniform sleeve because the ball can be hidden from the batter--he threw three balls to leadoff batter Vinnie Orlando and eventually walked him.

Dongo Francisco followed with a grounder to first baseman Keith Evans, who thought about throwing to second, then threw too late to Corcoran to get Francisco at first. A wild pitch advanced the runners, then shortstop Jeff Meyer misplayed Cesar Hernandez’s chopper and Orlando scored. Before the inning ended, the Knights had scored three more runs on three hits and a sacrifice fly.

Chaminade scored an unearned run in the first on Billy Blair’s single up the middle. The Knights countered with a run in the second for a 5-1 lead.

The sun broke through threatening clouds in the third, and Corcoran seemed to warm to his task. He surrendered a single to Glen Carson to start the third, then struck out the side.

But the Knights scored four runs in the fifth for a 9-3 lead, and Mike Salas’ 280-foot home run in the seventh brought in three more.

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Senior Eric Vellozzi (1-0) scattered four hits--a single in each of the first four innings--through five innings in his second appearance of the season.

Cary Wichmann relieved in the sixth and seventh, allowing two hits and an earned run.

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