Laguna has big plans

It’s a beach town, and Laguna Beach High baseball Coach Jeff Sears knows it.

When spring starts and the temperatures get warmer, Laguna Beach residents start crossing Coast Highway to swim or catch some rays.

“[Baseball’s] a spring sport, and that brings out the warmer weather,” Sears said. “People want to go to the beach and have fun. Not a lot of these guys are from baseball families. They’re beach families first. This community is way into the beach.”

But what Sears has right now is a group of high schoolers who are more interested in the baseball field than the boogie board.

They’re the 2009 Breakers baseball team, and they’re trying to reverse some troubling numbers “” namely, the fact that Laguna Beach hasn’t won a league title in 46 years or made the playoffs in nine.

“I think this is a good group of guys [who are] tired of losing,” said Sears, in his second year as the Breakers’ head man. “The learning curve has gone up. Now they’re starting to believe in the process. Last year, we were trying to teach the process. Without the process, a goal is only a dream.”

Top returners for the Breakers include a trio of seniors: catcher Gabe Stansbury, infielder Jake Sganga and outfielder Dillon Pierce.

Stansbury has been on fire early in the season, batting nine for 12 in the Breakers’ first three games of the Newport Elks Tournament. Laguna Beach lost to Segerstrom, 4-3 in nine innings, before topping Savanna, 13-4, on Saturday. The Breakers then bested Cerritos, 12-2, on Monday.

In that win, Stansbury was four for four, with three doubles and three runs batted in.

The Breakers lost to Nogales, 2-0, on Wednesday. Still, if it keep splaying like this, Laguna Beach could better its program record for wins, which is 15.

“We’re playing with a higher intensity right now,” said Stansbury, a second-team All-Orange Coast League pick a year ago, along with Sganga. “Our team seems to be flowing better because of it.”

Sophomore Chris Paul is another key returner. Paul was a first-team all-league selection a year ago. Junior pitcher and first baseman Casey Miller should also have an important role.

Other key contributors include junior outfielder/pitcher Mike Maxsenti, as well as senior Andrew Paddon, junior Steve Contursi and sophomores Spencer Freidenrich, Keaton Jones and Austin Paxon.

Stansbury said the team lost its best pitcher and best hitter from the team that finished third in league a year ago. Zach Nuno was the league’s co-Pitcher of the Year, and senior shortstop Dillon Sype was a threat at the plate. But most of the other players return, giving Laguna Beach reason for optimism.

“It’s a huge improvement from last year,” Sganga said. “We definitely feel like more of a team. We consider them team wins ... The seniors are a really tight group of friends. I think that helps us on the field; we’re one unit.”

The Orange Coast League appears to be up in the air. Defending league champion Calvary Chapel has started its season strong, as has second-place finisher Costa Mesa.

Laguna Beach, though, feels like it’s time to make a statement. With the addition of Godinez to the league, three teams are guaranteed CIF playoff spots.

“The league looks really competitive,” Sears said. “The level of play in the Orange Coast League has gone up. Where we sit in that depends on our pitching and defense. Do we have a chance at league? Yes. Is that within our reach? Yes.”

Stansbury said he can’t wait.

“It’s been like that for so long, so I guess people have accepted it,” said Stansbury of the Breakers’ losing past. “The mentality is that we’re not going to be very good. But once we realized that we were good and had the capability of making the playoffs or winning league, now we see it’s obtainable.

“It makes us want it more.”