CdM's Moskovits doubly tough

By Barry Faulkner

April 10, 2007 12 AM PT

CORONA DEL MAR — It’s not as if Danny Moskovits wasn’t already holding up his end.

As the emerging ace of the Sea Kings pitching staff, the sophomore right-hander had thrown two straight complete games and carried a glistening 1.30 ERA into Monday’s Beach Pit Classic quarterfinal against visiting Aliso Niguel.

But as CdM baseball coach John Emme continues to look for solutions to some recent offensive struggles, Moskovits was less concerned about what the lineup could do for him than what he could do for the lineup.

So, in addition to his pitching chores, Moskovits for only the second time this season, occupied a spot in the batting order against the Wolverines.

The results, in both areas, were impressive.

Moskovits needed just 72 pitches to polish off a complete-game five-hitter in a 6-2 triumph that propelled the Sea Kings (12-3) into today’s semifinal against Back Bay rival Newport Harbor. Today’s game is at 11 a.m. at CdM.

He struck out three, walked none and both Aliso Niguel runs were unearned.

In addition, the new-found No. 9 hitter had two singles and a bases-loaded walk in three plate appearances, driving in two runs, scoring another and stealing a base to, as the cliché goes, help his cause.

“I like hitting,” said the soft-spoken Moskovits, who had a single in his first game as a hitter in Saturday’s 1-0 tournament-opening win over Chino Hills.

Moskovits, who has allowed just one earned run in his last 23 innings — lowering his ERA to 1.07 — attributed his recent mound mastery to a lot of focus and confidence in his fielders.

He said that focus was amplified by not having to attend classes before staring in at hitters during Monday’s 11 a.m. contest.

School or no school, Emme said Moskovits seldom lets anything deter him from stifling opposing hitters.

“He has been phenomenal all year,” Emme said of Moskovits’ efficient success on the bump. “He has command and poise beyond his years, and the kind of movement he has on his pitches just isn’t fair.”

Moskovits, who said he did not have his best fastball Monday, was treated less than fairly by his defense, which committed five errors.

But the Sea Kings more than made up for their defensive deficiencies by pounding out 11 hits against three Aliso hurlers.

Senior first baseman Chris Rosen went three for four, while senior designated hitter Gavin Juarez was two for three.

Both Rosen and Juarez were benched Saturday, said Emme, who noted he wanted to use the tournament games to see if he could find a few new spark plugs for an offense that has largely been idling of late.

“[Rosen and Juarez] watched Saturday,” Emme said. “And maybe they learned something. We’ve been hitting .250 in league, even though we’re 5-1 [against Pacific Coast League foes]. That’s unheard of for us. We’ve been getting it done with pitching and defense.”

The Sea Kings, who have won three straight and 11 of their last 12, got it done early against the Wolverines (8-8).

Duke-bound senior shortstop Jake Lemmerman singled and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Michael DiRocco to open the scoring in the first inning.

RBI singles by senior Austin Elliott and Moskovits plated two of the three CdM runs in the second. The other scored on the second of two Aliso errors.

After Rosen, junior second baseman Kevin Holland and Juarez singled to load the bases with one out in the third, Moskovits walked. After a strikeout, Lemmerman was hit by a pitch to drive in the Sea Kings’ final run.

The only drama that remained was whether the Sea Kings could extend their scoreless-innings streak. But three fifth-inning errors allowed the Wolverines to score twice, the first time a CdM opponent had crossed the plate in 26 innings, Emme said.

“We’ve been play good defense,” Emme said. “I think we may have been a little snake-bitten in that inning.”

Beach Pit Classic

Quarterfinal

Corona del Mar 6,

Aliso Niguel 2

Score by Innings