Eighty-five years ago, high school baseball was first played in Coronado. In the intervening years, no CHS Baseball Team had advanced to the CIF Finals in any division in which they competed.

Seeded No. 10 in the 12-team CIF Division III Playoffs, the Islanders won their play-in game at San Marcos last week by the score of 11-8; defeated St. Augustine on the road 7-4; and completed their first week of post-season work by winning at Mission Bay 3-2.

Beginning last week’s playoff competition, the Islanders needed to defeat Mission Bay a second time in the double elimination playoff format to advance to the winner take all finals scheduled for Saturday.

Tuesday the Islanders traveled to Mission Bay again and lost a tough, well-played contest by the score of 3-2 in nine innings. Kevin Couture pitched eight innings, and yielded only one earned run on five hits, striking out 10 Buccaneer batters, while walking none. In addition, Couture hit his third homer in as many games in the fifth inning, a 350-foot shot to right center field.

Additional offensive production came from Blake Spitzer, who was 2-5 at the plate; Mike Baker-Denson, who went 3-4 and scored the other Islander run after a lead-off double in the fourth inning; Brandon Wheeler was 1-2 with two walks; Max Weinfurtner contributed the first Coronado RBI; and other hits came from David West and Danny Cepin.

With both Coronado and Mission Bay now tagged with one loss each, the Islanders returned to higher-seeded Mission Bay’s field Thursday for their third game against the 2005 Western Division Champions in seven days, with a CIF Finals berth again on the line. The Islanders rose to the occasion, defeating Mission Bay 2-0 on the broad back of senior Mike Hollinger and his three-hit, complete game shutout.

"It was all Hollinger," said Head Coach Sam Ceci. "He walked six, and was in a little bit of trouble, but he was pretty much in command the whole way. He got Henry Sanchez (the Buc’s power hitting first baseman) out and make no mistake, a couple of those walks were intentional."

The runs that sent the Islanders to the victory and on to the CIF Finals came courtesy of Coronado catcher Spitzer, who contributed a bases-loaded single in the top of the seventh inning. Ceci summarized the historic victory. "We made the plays, got good pitching and had a timely hit or two. It’s not often you can shut out Mission Bay at their park to eliminate them."

The victory marked the fourth playoff win for the Islanders in five tries, all on the road. It earned Coronado a match-up in the finals against the winner of the upper portion of the Division III Playoff bracket and No. 8 seed USDHS. Ironically, the Dons and the Islanders both finished in a tie for fourth place in the Western League with identical 6-6 records, and they split their two regular season meetings.

Due to a CIF-limit of allowing pitchers to throw only 10 innings in a Monday through Saturday week of competition, staff ace Couture had only two innings remaining to pitch and Hollinger, who had thrown seven innings at Mission Bay Thursday, had but three innings left. The finals start was awarded to freshman Kyle Pokorny, the complete-game winner of a pivotal playoff game at St. Augustine the week before.

Several hundred Coronado fans were in attendance at Tony Gwynn Stadium on the campus of San Diego State University for the 1:30 pm championship game. CHS students, faculty members, administrators, Coronado Little League players, and parents were all on hand in large numbers.

The Islanders wore their green road jerseys with white numbers over their gray game pants. The Dons were attired in red jerseys with white numbers and white uniform pants. Like a good boxing title fight, both teams came out swinging. The game was tied twice and there were a total of six lead changes.

The game started positively for Coronado, as they scored three times in the top of the first inning, sending eight hitters to the plate in the process. David West started the proceedings with a walk; Spitzer grounded into a fielders choice, forcing West at second; Couture doubled, advancing Spitzer to third; Baker-Denson was hit by a pitch, loading the bases; Josh Okerman singled to drive in Spitzer, Jimmy Gersonde singled to drive in Couture; and Wheeler grounded out, but drove in Baker-Denson by putting the ball in play.

The Dons responded with three runs in their half of the first and the offensive display from both clubs was just beginning.

In the Coronado third inning, Couture ripped an opposite field, lead off triple and scored on Baker-Denson’s RBI single to give CHS a 4-3 lead. The Dons countered with two runs in the bottom of the third to take a 5-4 lead.

Coronado scored two runs in the fourth to assume their final lead of the afternoon at 6-5. Weinfurtner led off with a single; Ryan Nunn was hit by a pitch; David West sacrificed both runners up a base; Spitzer walked; Couture plated Weinfurtner with a fielder’s choice; and Nunn scored on an error by the shortstop on the same play.

USDHS added two runs in the fourth to retake the lead 7-6. Coronado tied the game 7-7 in their portion of the fifth on a double by Ben Thorne and an RBI single from Wheeler.

The Dons big inning was their half of the fifth, where they scored five runs, sending nine hitters to the plate. When the dust settled, USDHS had a 12-7 lead, which ultimately became the game’s final score. Pokorny battled the hot-hitting Dons for three innings, Hollinger hurled 1.1 innings, and Couture came in for 1.2 innings.

Coronado had some big defensive plays in the contest, including Spitzer picking a USDHS base runner off of first base in the second inning and a nice running catch by Okerman in left field to end a Dons rally in the third inning. Spitzer played a fine game defensively, blocking numerous pitches in the dirt.

Ceci knew his team had faced a quality opponent, which played their way past No. 1 seed Valhalla to reach the finals, much the same way Coronado defeated No. 2 seed Mission Bay. "Their (the Dons) lineup was tough. Everybody that came up there was swinging the bat. We hung with them for a while and I was proud of our kids. Everybody (on the Islanders’ squad) swung the bat aggressively, ran the bases well and pitched ok when we had energy. Sarge (Hollinger) was tired and so was Kevin. Kyle gave it his all, as well."

The season concluded with Coronado winning four of their six playoff games, five of them on the road, with the sixth contest competed at a neutral site. They were the visiting team in all of their playoff contests, which placed Coronado at a strategic disadvantage. The Islanders finished with a 22-13 overall record and an historic second place finish in the CIF Division III Playoffs.

"It’s been a good season," said Ceci. "It was a good ending. We accomplished a lot and everybody is feeling fairly satisfied. It was still a win-win for us. Next year, the kids will be closer to getting there again."

While you are in the mood for baseball, remember that the Home Run Derby contest that benefits the Coronado High School Baseball program will be held Saturday, June 18^th at Islander Field behind Strand Elementary School from 10 am to 5 pm.

If you are between the ages of 9 and 18, you will need a sponsor to compete in the contest. In the adult division, an entry fee is required. Competition will be held in six age divisions ranging from 9 to 99 years of age.

There will be fun for the whole family. Food, prizes and raffle prizes will all be available. This would also be a good opportunity to see the new baseball clubhouse constructed at Islander Field. For more information on the Home Run Derby, please contact Bruce Johnson at 619-851-1600 or pre-register via E-mail at CoronadoIslanders@gmail.com. Remember, take two and hit to right.

CHS High Jumpers Jamie Klages and Adam Munns qualified for the State CIF Track meet held at Sacramento City College over the weekend, based on their strong finish the prior weekend in the CIF San Diego Section finals held at Mt. Carmel High School. Klages won the San Diego Section title with a jump of 5-feet, 6-inches. Munns finished in second place in the San Diego Section with a jump of 6-feet, 5-inches.

Klages spent most of the week before the section playoffs at the U.S. Soccer 20 and under National Team camp. Unfortunately, this high-level cross training approach took its toll in Sacramento Friday, when Klages jumped 5-4 and wasn’t able to advance to Saturday’s finals. She was eliminated in a tiebreaker based on the total misses at lower heights.

A similar fate befell Munns, who cleared 6-feet, 2.75 inches and didn’t qualify for the finals. Both athletes ended their fine prep careers Friday. Munns plans to continue his track career at UCSD next year. Klages will continue her stellar soccer career at the University of Nebraska.

The banquet season is flying by, with several post-season gatherings occurring last week. Head Boys Tennis Coach Robbin Adair announced his team’s award winners as follows: Team MVP – Daniel Souza; Co-Most Improved – Frankie Harrison and Pedro de la Fuente; Team Captain – Dan Schneider.

The Boys Varsity Volleyball awards as announced by Head Coach Phil Trotter went to: the Islander Sports Foundation Award for Integrity, Sportsmanship and Friendship – Alan Cooper; Most Improved – Brady Penn; Team Captain – Jonathan Smith; Islander Award –Cooper; Most Inspirational – Justin Hardy; Golden Ball Award for Best Underclassman –Hardy; Team MVP – Jed Considine.

Head Boys JV Volleyball Coach Jared Gibson presented the Coach’s Award to Eric Blackwood and the Team MVP to Charlie Wood.

Girls Varsity Softball Head Coach Ed Shanholtz presented his awards to: Co-MVP Farrell Pompa and Sara Noceto; Most Improved – Lisa Bernardy and Karli Massie; ISF Award - Brandi Perez; Team Captain – Jessica Davis-Ricci; Coaches’ Awards – Kristin Barker and Christy Mebust; Big Bat Award – Pompa for her .379 Batting Average; and the Gold Glove Award – Alana Zimmer for her .943 Fielding Average. Shanholtz also announced Noceto was named to the Western League Second Team.

The JV Softball Awards went to Co-MVPs Brandi Bible and Rosie Harris; Co-Most Improved – Rebecca Newman and Nicole Tesh; Team Captains – Juliet Zimmer and Nora Kaminski.

In his play "As You Like It," William Shakespeare said, "All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players."

To paraphrase The Bard, it seems that all the world now plays lacrosse, and the athletes that represent Coronado High School play their rapidly-growing sport at a high level. Several representatives of both the Boys and Girls Lacrosse programs earned post-season honors.

The Girls had a total of six players make the City Conference First Team, including: Marissa Nagler, Angela Naple, Julia Schelkun, Lindsey Negrete, Liz Thaete and Alex Vido. Earning Second Team recognition were Hannah Sebenaler, Lindsay Naple and Christine Siefert. Schelkun was voted City Conference Player of the Year.

All CIF First Team honors were accorded to Schelkun and Angela Naple; Second Team to Nagler and Thaete; Honorable Mention recognition went to Vido.

In addition Schelkun, who will continue her lacrosse career at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York next year, earned All-American recognition.

On the Boys side, goalie Kevin Chenoweth was named City Conference Player of the Year; was voted to the All CIF First Team; and was named a U.S. Lacrosse High School All American. Chenoweth was also named to the U.S. Western States All-Star Team that will represent the U.S.A. in competition against the national teams of the United Kingdom (England, Wales and Scotland).

Catching up on the awards from the Girls Lacrosse Banquet, the Girls Junior Varsity Lacrosse awards as presented by JV Head Coach Kelly Steinacher included: Most Improved – Emily Kopp; Hustle Award – Kelsey Branch; Coach’s Award – Lexi Donovan; and Team MVP Erin Colvin.

The JV Boys Lacrosse Awards as presented by coaches Scott Orosz and Terry Leary included: Offensive Player of the Year – Austen Speer; Defensive Player of the Year – Jake Benzian; Coaches’ Leadership Award - Curtis Perkins; Most Improved – Jon Walton; and Team MVP – Austen McRae.

(Read with the intro to AC/DC’s "Hell’s Bells" tolling in the background)

The Annual Axey Awards, reviewing the best of the 2004-05 Coronado High School sports year will appear next week.