McCormack quite the ace

"I shook his hand after the game and I told him, 'It's been fun for the past [four] years,'" said Lavalle, whose team went on to defend its league crown. "He's just a good kid. He's a good person. A lot of our kids play on the same teams in the summer and they say the same thing, 'Andrew McCormack is a good dude and he's a heck of a pitcher.'"

McCormack, a repeat Dream Team selection, left his mark at CdM. The right-hander, who's bound for Stanford, posted stellar numbers on the mound during his four-year CdM career.

His 239 innings of work rank No. 1 of any pitcher in the last 15 years under Emme's watch. The second pitcher on the list is 77 innings behind McCormack.

McCormack went 21-14 with a 2.33 ERA, the second-best mark in the last 15 years for a CdM pitcher with at least 100 innings. His 139 strikeouts are No. 2.

No. 1 is where McCormack, a first-team all-league selection, wanted the Sea Kings to finish in league. They placed third and reached the Division 3 playoffs after they missed the postseason the previous season.

The ride ended in the first round. You cannot fault McCormack for his effort. He lasted 8 2/3 innings and allowed one earned run before CdM lost, 4-3, in extra innings at Lancaster.

The last two games McCormack represented CdM came against some of the best players in Orange County. He started on the mound in the Kiwanis Club of Greater Anaheim's 45th annual Orange County North-South All-Star Game for seniors and in the Ryan Lemmon Senior Showcase game between the Pacific Coast League and Freeway League.

In both games, McCormack's teams prevailed. He wrapped up his high school career a winner.

The following are the rest of the players on this year's Dream Team:

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Alex Trancoso

Estancia

Senior center fielder covered a lot of ground for the Eagles. Trancoso earned All-CIF Southern Section Division 4 and first-team All-Orange Coast League honors, and played in the Kiwanis Club of Greater Anaheim's 45th annual Orange County North-South All-Star Game for seniors. He led the area with a .448 batting average and a .525 on-base percentage. He finished with 17 runs batted in, nine doubles, one triple, 25 runs, 13 for 13 in stolen-base attempts and a .575 slugging percentage. Coach Nate Goellrich said Trancoso's 39 hits during the season rank second all-time at Estancia. Trancoso is a two-time Dream Team pick.

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Brent Lawson

Corona del Mar