CdM learns hard way after loss to Beckman

CORONA DEL MAR — The other team, the winning one, starting sprinting near the right-field line.

Coach Laura Mayberry’s Corona del Mar High players sat on the grass in left field watching.

Wait a minute. Isn’t the losing team supposed to run after almost getting no-hit and also striking out 13 times?

The Sea Kings weren’t about to get away without some punishment after losing, 5-0, in a vital Pacific Coast League home game Thursday.

CdM was going to get its chance to do something it rarely did against pitcher Trista Thomas, who threw a one-hitter, and for that matter against Beckman this week.

That’s run the bases.

As the Patriots’ wrapped up their 10th sprint after shutting out CdM for the second time this week, the Sea Kings rushed toward home plate.

Coach Pete Harrell said his Patriots (7-9, 4-2 in league) sprinted 10 times because they had 10 hits in the game that kept them in second place in league.

The Sea Kings (8-12, 4-4) ran because their offense has disappeared, leaving them in a two-way tie for third with Irvine. In the last eight games, they’ve scored three runs, getting blanked six times.

Five is also the number of times Mayberry ordered her team to scoot around the bases afterward because the team struck out looking five times.

“It just wasn’t a very good game,” said CdM starter Michelle Tolfa (7-10), who gave up five runs, struck out five, walked two, and hit one batter in seven innings. “[Thomas] wasn’t that tough. She threw hard, and a lot of the girls on this team aren’t used to fast pitching. A lot of the girls just don’t have very much experience hitting off live pitching.

“They can put the machines out here and hit all they want, but it takes experience to be able to hit off [live] pitching.”

With hitting comes knowing how to maneuver around the bases. The Sea Kings learned how to scamper around after the game.

Players first took off out of the batter’s box, once reaching first base they dove back to the bag. Next came second base, which they darted toward as though they were stealing the base. Then off to third, where they rounded the bag before diving back.

Home awaited them and four more trips around the bases.

“Just a reminder,” said Mayberry of having her players familiarize themselves again with what it’s like to be on the bases.

It hasn’t always been this way for Mayberry in her first year as CdM’s head varsity coach. Things looked promising before the offense deteriorated.

Now the Sea Kings are fighting to stay in playoff contention. The way they’re hitting and with the next two games against league-leader Laguna Hills, it might not happen as the top three teams in the five-team league receive playoff berths. Last year, seven teams were in the PCL and four teams advanced to the postseason, the fourth being CdM.

“I felt really good in the last two weeks going to into [spring break], but we dropped a [2-0 league] game to Irvine [on April 5] that we shouldn’t have, and we dropped these two to Beckman [this week],” said Mayberry, whose team is 2-6 after starting the season 6-6. “We have to like pick it up here toward the end if we want to have that [fourth straight] playoff [berth].

“We’ve been struggling offensively. We’ll get runners on and we just don’t execute at the plate to move them over. You can’t put runs across the plate if you don’t execute.”

Against Thomas (3-5), the Sea Kings didn’t have many opportunities as only two runners reached base. She faced the minimum number of batters (21).

The only hit they managed to get off the sophomore was a dribbler toward the first-base line that catcher Kindra Bennett couldn’t get to in time.

Karissa Dempsey broke the no-hitter in the bottom of the fifth, when she swung the bat prematurely before the pitch arrived. Dempsey kept the bat over the plate, as though she was bunting, and the ball found the aluminum.

But Thomas, who last year struck out 18 CdM batters in a game, got out of the inning when Bennett threw Dempsey out trying to steal second, and Thomas mowed down Amy Smith.

At least Dempsey could say that she, like teammate Allie Duernberger did in the first inning by getting walked, got a chance to run from first base during the game.

The rest of the team joined her after the game.

Pacific Coast LeagueBeckman 5,

Corona del Mar 0

Score by Innings

Beckman 1 0 3 0 0 1 0 - 5 10 0

CdM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 0

Thomas and Bennett; Tolfa and Gaar. W -- Thomas, 3-5. L -- Tolfa, 7-10. 2B -- Bennett (B). 3B -- Thomas (B).