Brian Beck remembers the feeling well. It...

Brian Beck remembers the feeling well.

It was his freshman year and he had just been called up to join

the Laguna Beach High varsity baseball team for the CIF Southern

Section playoffs.

Beck didn’t get the chance to play, and Laguna ended up being

eliminated in a first-round contest, but he enjoyed the experience

and envisioned getting a few more chances to compete in future

playoff tournaments.

But no Laguna team has made the postseason party since that 2000

season, Mike Schubert’s first as head coach, although the school just

missed out on a playoff berth last year after tying for third place

in the Pacific Coast League race.

Laguna then lost out on a tiebreaker to determine the league’s

third-place playoff entry.

“We came really close last year and this being my senior year, I

really want to get back to the playoffs,” said the 17-year-old

senior. “We have the talent to get there -- it’s just a matter of

applying that talent.”

Laguna began its quest for a playoff run last Friday with an 8-1

victory at Calvary Chapel.

That heady start, however, was subdued four days later, when the

Breakers committed three errors and were rocked by Corona del Mar,

9-1.

“We can’t let that game get us down,” said Beck, a team captain

who primarily plays first base, and is Laguna’s lead-off hitter. “If

we lose a game, we just need to forget about it and move on,

concentrate on what’s ahead. We still have eight league games left,

and that will determine if we make the playoffs, or not.”

Beck is one big reason Laguna figures to be in the thick of battle

for its first playoff berth in four years.

“He is one of the hardest-working kids I have ever coached,”

Schubert said. “Brian just plays the game the way it’s supposed to be

played.

“He can hit to all fields and he’s such a patient hitter. He seems

to find a way to get on base. He’s definitely one of the cornerstones

of our program.”

Schubert agrees with Beck in saying that his team does have the

talent for a big run in league play. He singled out the efforts of

outfielder Andy Whalen and pitcher Jonathon Cedeno, as examples

Whalen bats in the heart of Laguna’s lineup, in the No. 3 slot.

The senior recently committed to play baseball in the Ivy League, at

the University of Pennsylvania.

“Like Brian, he’s another hard-working player,” Schubert said.

“All of his hard work in the weight room in the off-season has really

paid off. Penn is getting a very dedicated player and young man.”

Cedeno was the winning pitcher in last Friday’s Pacific Coast

League win over Calvary Chapel. He allowed just one hit and an

unearned run in that 8-1 victory which squared the senior

right-hander’s season record at 1-1.

He has two complete games in three starts and in 20 innings

pitched, has allowed just two earned runs.

“Jonathon has done just an outstanding job for us,” Schubert said.

“He’s been on the money and has made a real nice comeback from his

injury.”

At this point a year ago, Cedeno sported a 3-0 record with a 0.95

ERA. Those numbers, however, would be his final stats as he broke his

non-throwing arm in a pickup basketball game, and missed the

remainder of the season.

With Cedeno back at full speed and among nine returners from last

year’s team, the numbers are there for Laguna to make a serious run

in league and toward a possible playoff berth.

The Breakers get their next chance at victory today when they

travel to Northwood. After that, Tesoro pays a visit Tuesday to

Laguna.

“We’re a close-knit team and we know that the talent is there,”

said Beck, prior to Laguna’s hosting Gladstone High of Oregon on

Wednesday, “but we need to take advantage of that closeness and play

together as a team from here on out.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports for the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. He can be reached at 494-4321 or by e-mail at

[email protected].