Corona del Mar Takes Big Step Past La Quinta

The message sent by the Corona del Mar baseball team Tuesday was loud and clear and it sounded an awful lot like the ping of aluminum hitting baseball.

The fourth-seeded Sea Kings pounded 11 hits in a 12-1 drubbing of top-seeded La Quinta in a Southern Section Division IV semifinal at Santa Ana College, and earned a trip to Edison Field Saturday to face third-seeded El Segundo. The time of the game has not yet been decided.

The offensive outburst by the Sea Kings (19-8) spoiled what they thought was a thinly veiled plan by La Quinta--the home team that selected the site--to slow the Corona del Mar offense.

“It’s no coincidence that the game was played here,” Sea King Coach John Emme said, referring to the Santa Ana field, which is 400 feet to center with a fence at least 20 feet high all the way around.

“But we’re going to hit the ball. Today our plan was to hit the alleys and the balls we hit deep were in the gaps.”

The Aztecs (27-3) denied that Santa Ana College was selected for any other reason than it’s seating capacity.

“We’re here because this is where a semifinal should be,” La Quinta Coach Dave Demarest said. “At a junior college or college field. We could have played them at Yosemite National Park today and it wouldn’t have made a difference with the way they hit.”

Ty Harper, Eric Weithorn, Matt Larson and Alex Bottom each had two hits for Corona del Mar and six Sea Kings drove in runs.

For the first four innings, Harper and La Quinta starter Brian Cisneros engaged in a pitchers’ duel. But with a 1-0 lead, Larson and Mark Hatfield had consecutive two-out, run-scoring singles against Cisneros (7-2) in the fifth.

After Hatfield stole second, both runners scored when La Quinta shortstop Josue Pena fielded a Nate Lemmerman grounder behind second base then threw low to first for a two-base error.

Harper had a two-out, three-run double to cap a seven-run seventh that gave the Sea Kings a 12-1 lead.

The offensive outburst overshadowed an outstanding effort by Harper (6-1), who gave up one run on four hits with five strikeouts and two walks in 6 1/3 innings.

Harper, more known for his bat with an average near .550 and 10 home runs, showed that he can beat you on the mound as well. Only three runners got past first base.