Bryce AldertonThe Northwood High baseball team gave...
Bryce Alderton
The Northwood High baseball team gave visiting Corona del Mar all it
could handle, but, in the end, met the same destiny as every other
Pacific Coast League foe in a historic run.
First baseman Barrett Sprowl’s catch of Jeff Rothman’s pop-up gave
CdM a 5-4 victory over host Northwood Wednesday and a perfect 15-0
league record.
The Sea Kings have won 18 straight PCL contests.
“Fifteen-and-0, can’t do any better than that,” said CdM junior
Wess Presson, who went 1 for 3 with a run scored and two RBIs. “It’s
always fun to play [the Timberwolves] because we don’t really get
along. It’s a good one to end on.”
CdM (20-5), ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division IV, took
a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the seventh, but Northwood kept senior
starting pitcher Blake Contant, and his defense, on its toes.
Max Nikolenko hit the second of his two doubles with one out, but
Contant induced Tim Carrier to ground out and got Rothman on the
aforementioned pop.
“I was a little nervous, but I was confident on the hill and
confident in my team,” said Contant, a left-hander who struck out
three and allowed eight hits in an 85-pitch effort to improve to 8-2.
“Blake didn’t have his best stuff, but in a one-run game, we were
going to win or lose with him on the hill,” CdM Coach John Emme said.
“I liked his tenacity.”
Contant appeared to struggle to controle his curveball, but he
exhibited control of his other pitches. He did not walk a batter and
had only one three-ball count. Contant induced 13 flyouts.
“If you are going to put the cherry on top of the ice cream, this
is a nice way to do it. This is a great team win,” Emme said.
The Sea Kings trailed, 3-2, heading into the sixth, but
capitalized on a Northwood error and some alert baserunning to regain
the lead for good.
Sprowl, leading off the sixth, reached when the pitcher failed to
cover first on a ground ball to the right side. Emme inserted Mitch
Folks to pinch run for Sprowl and he stole second without a throw on
ball three to Presson.
After eight pitches, Presson ripped a single into center field to
score Folks with the tying run and took second when the throw sailed
home.
Tyler Lance was hit by a pitch following a strikeout and both he
and Presson took second when Danny Marin-Finn grounded into a
fielder’s choice for the second out.
The stage was set and freshman Jake Lemmerman fisted an inside
fastball into left field to score Presson and Lance, giving CdM a 5-3
cushion.
“[Lemmerman’s] hit was special,” Emme said. “That was a nice job
of hitting.”
Both teams tallied eight hits, but CdM capitalized on more of its
chances, Northwood Coach Rob Stuart said.
“CdM is a very good offensive team,” Stuart said. “We haven’t
faced too many teams that hit the ball in crucial situations. We gave
away too many opportunities and you can’t give CdM three or four free
passes.”
The Sea Kings took a 2-0 lead into the fourth, but Northwood
(16-10, 8-7) responded with three in the inning, capped by a Tim
Radack’s two-run home run to right.
Rothman led off the eighth with a home run to right, cutting the
CdM lead to 5-4. Radack nearly hit the next pitch to the warning
track in left, where Nik Palchikoff hauled it in for the out.
Contant said he wasn’t fazed by the three-run fourth.
“I take the other fans cheering their team to my advantage,”
Contant said. “It gave me motivation to shut them down. I knew my
team would come through with the runs.”
Presson’s sacrifice fly scored Andy Frankiel to give CdM a 1-0
lead in the first and Josh Bradbury doubled and scored on Sprowl’s
single in the third.
Stuart, whose Timberwolves finished third in league, getting the
final automatic CIF berth, said CdM is in an elite class of teams.
“They are better than all the other teams we’ve played this year,
no doubt about it,” Stuart said.
Northwood has faced powers Capistrano Valley, Foothill, Riverside
Poly and Valencia of Valencia. Capo Valley and Riverside Poly are
ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in Division I.
“It’s a neat way to end league,” Stuart said of CdM’s undefeated
run. “[Emme] wins with class and you don’t see that all the time.”
CdM will host a first-round CIF playoff game May 21.
*--*
Pacific Coast League
Corona del Mar 5, Northwood 4
Score by Innings
CdM 101 003 0 -- 5 8 2
N’wood 000 301 0 -- 4 8 1
Contant and Presson, Marin-Finn (5);
Kuykendall, Haselton (7) and Bruns. W --
Contant, 8-2. L -- Kuykendall, 7-3. 2B --
Nikolenko (NW) 2, Rothman (NW), Kuykendall
(NW), Bradbury (CdM). HR -- Rothman (NW),
Radack (NW).
*--*
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