Schubert Orchestrates Laguna Beach Masterpiece
Neither Cori nor Berni LaRue will ever so much as lay down a sacrifice bunt for the Laguna Beach baseball team, but anyone associated with the Artist program owes them a heaping debt of gratitude.
It was Cori who last year convinced her boyfriend, Mike Schubert, to leave his job as pitching coach at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and move to be with her in Aliso Viejo.
It was Cori’s mom, Berni, a Laguna Niguel resident, who told Schubert about the coaching vacancy at Laguna Beach.
The rest has been Pacific Coast League history.
The Artists (5-9, 4-4), who won exactly one league game last season and haven’t been to the playoffs since 1963, are sitting alone in second place. They have two chances to solidify their position with games today and Friday against No. 7 University (15-4, 6-0), the league’s leader.
“The kids think they can win now,” Schubert said. “They think they can beat anybody. I didn’t see that when I got here.”
Schubert hasn’t completed the makeover single-handedly. New hitting and catching instructor Damon Berryhill, a former major league catcher and 1982 Laguna Beach graduate, has done wonders for the Artist offense.
“It’s great having him on staff,” said Ryan Gagnet, a senior catcher who wants to try out for Notre Dame’s team next year as a walk-on. “He’s helped me in countless ways. He’s taught me what I need to succeed on the next level.”
Said Schubert: “[Berryhill’s] done a great job. Our hitters are improving every day. When he speaks, the kids’ ears are open and their mouths are shut.”
Schubert said he received adequate warning before taking over a program that was regarded by many as “a big joke.”
“People told me, ‘You don’t want to go there. They’re surfer kids and they don’t work,’ ” he said.
But Schubert knows a few things about turning around a program. As the pitching coach at Wisconsin-Parkside, a Division II school in Kenosha, Wis., Schubert helped a staff with an earned-run average of 8.50 slice that figure by more than half in two seasons. By the time he left, Schubert’s pitchers had an ERA of 3.90, one of the top 25 in the country.
After he arrived at Laguna Beach, Schubert instilled a new sense of discipline. He made sure his players didn’t show up late and remembered to respect their elders.
“That is the difference,” said Gagnet, who’s hitting .350 with three home runs. “We have the same amount of talent, it’s just a complete different mind set.”
In July, Schubert handed out surveys to see what goals his players had for the season. “Be better than .500,” and “qualify for the playoffs” were common answers.
Then, after running his players through rigorous preseason workouts, Schubert distributed the same survey at the beginning of March. This time, the answers--”win league, win Southern Section playoffs”--revealed a more positive outlook.
“We’re trying to conquer the mental part of the game, and there are so many things the kids still need to learn,” Schubert said. “It’s not missing signs, it’s hitting the cutoff--those things are the things that win ballgames.”
Schubert has a number of players who can win ballgames. Outfielder/pitcher John Verdugo is hitting .370 and has a 3.90 ERA. First baseman/pitcher Kirk Ziegler leads the team in batting with a .405 average, in home runs with four and in runs batted in with 15. He also has a slugging percentage over .800. And there’s leadoff hitter Kasey O’Keefe, whose on-base percentage is over .400.
“I won’t be satisfied unless we make the playoffs,” Schubert said. “That’s just the way I am. I set my goals high, but I’ve always met them.”
A playoff berth would give Schubert a double play, of sorts. He is already set to marry Cori in August.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Anaheim Lions tournament continues pool-play action until Wednesday, when the championship game will be played at 7 p.m. at Glover Stadium.
Los Alamitos, which began the season ranked seventh in the county but has fallen to .500, needs at least a split of its two-game series this week against No. 2 Fountain Valley to stay alive in the Sunset League title race.
On Friday, Westminster plays at Tustin in a battle for first place in the Golden West League.
The Pride of the Coast tournament’s championship game between Fontana Miller and San Clemente, postponed last week because of rain, will be made up at 1 p.m. May 6 at San Clemente.
If you have an item or idea for the prep baseball report, you can fax us at (714) 966-5663 or e-mail us at ben.bolch@latimes.com
