Pacifica

Barry Faulkner COSTA MESA - Joanna Danner, who threw four no-hitters, including a perfect game, en route to earning Newport-Mesa District Player of the Year laurels as a sophomore softball pitcher at Estancia High last year, has transferred to Pacifica. Cathy Danner, Joanna's mother, said logistics require Joanna to stay with her grandparents during the week. The grandparents reside within the Pacifica attendance boundaries, making a daily commute to Estancia problematic.

CORONA DEL MAR — Corona del Mar High Coach Steve Conti knows what he has in junior setters Connor Bannan and Michael Ensign. “There are some things that Connor gives us that maybe Michael doesn’t,” he said. “There are some things that [Michael] gives us that maybe Connor doesn’t.” In the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division II boys’ volleyball playoffs, Conti didn’t have to worry about Ensign passing along a bug Friday.

Steve Virgen COSTA MESA - This time around, there won't be any reason for postgame penalty kicks. That's what Costa Mesa High Coach Eugene Day wants out of his boys soccer team, which fulfilled that goal for at least one game with a 3-0 CIF Southern Section Division IV first-round victory over visiting Pacifica Friday. The Mustangs (14-3-3), the two-time Pacific Coast League champions, did not have to sweat out a close game. Not with seniors Mike Gardiner and Eli Solis and freshman Alfonso Pineda scoring goals; and especially not when Mesa outshot Pacifica, 19-4, including 15-3 in the second half when the Mustangs scored two goals to put the game away.

GARDEN GROVE — It was a bit of senior silliness, really, an opportunity to jump one last time through a window of opportunity that closes on everyone playing in their last high school football game. But the leap Costa Mesa High senior outside linebacker Cody De La Mater made off the back of a Mustangs defensive lineman into the Pacifica backfield before the snap late in Pacifica’s 34-0 victory in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Southern Division playoffs, was, perhaps a fitting metaphor for the Mustangs’ improbable season.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO - They hadn't played in a week, so there could have been rust. They were missing three starters due to family holiday trips, so there could have been apprehension. But the Corona del Mar High Sea Kings just keep on rolling. The CdM girls' soccer team won its three-team pool at the North Orange County Classic on Thursday. The Sea Kings beat Pacifica, 1-0, before topping Fountain Valley, 2-0, at St. Margaret's High. Corona del Mar (8-1) plays against St. Margaret's at 11 a.m. Friday, back at St. Margaret's.

ESTANCIA - The Estancia High girls swimming team grabbed four first-place finishes but lost, 100-66, to visiting Pacifica, in a nonleauge meet Friday. Eagles senior Jennifer Cassity won the 50-yard freestyle (27.18) and the 100 freestyle (1:01.46), while sophomore Jaime Fay touched first in the 200 free (2:39.56) and senior Somer Flaherty won the 200 individual medley (2:48.08). Estancia fell to 0-6. NONLEAGUE Girls Pacifica 100, Estancia 66 200 medley relay - 1. Pacifica.

Newport Harbor High's baseball team dropped a pair of nonleague games to Pacifica Saturday, 10-2 and 16-0, and they have Tuesday to look forward to when the resume play in the Newport Elks Tournament against ... second-round foe Pacifica. Newport Harbor pitching surrendered 29 hits and the Sailors were guilty of eight errors, but there were some bright spots offensively, especially with junior Karo Makserjian, Matt Erickson, Ryan Torrey and Greg Miner.

COSTA MESA - Estancia High's baseball team returns to the Eagles' diamond today at 11 a.m. against the loser of the Bolsa Grande-Orange Lutheran duel following a 12-3 loss to Pacifica in the first round of the Newport Elks Tournament Friday. Coach Doug Deats sent five pitchers to the mound, but the Eagles could not put a lid on Pacifica's 15-hit attack. Paul Flory started and took the loss, and he'll be back on the mound again today for the razor thin Eagles.

SANTA ANA - Estancia High's boys swim team was second with 47 points among three teams at a nonleague meet Tuesday with winner Pacifica and host Calvary Chapel of Santa Ana. David Collier and Brian Monette each finished second in two events for the Eagles (5-6). Nonleague Pacifica 84, Estancia 47, Calvary Chapel 38200 medley relay - 1. Pacifica, 1:51.19; 2. Calvary Chapel, 1:58.12; 3. Estancia, 2:02.63. 200 free - 1. Calvary Chapel, 1:58.28; 2. Collier (E)

Steve Virgen The Estancia High football team, which lost its eighth straight game of the season, managed to find a small victory against nonleague foe Pacifica at Bolsa Grande Thursday night. The Eagles (1-8) ended their three-game scoreless streak, but Pacifica gained 439 rushing yards, leading to a 58-7 win. "We have to take our victories where we can get them," Estancia Coach Jay Noonan said. "Rome wasn't built in a day. Even Milpitas wasn't built in a day. We're not Rome, but we sure aren't Milpitas, either."

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO - They hadn't played in a week, so there could have been rust. They were missing three starters due to family holiday trips, so there could have been apprehension. But the Corona del Mar High Sea Kings just keep on rolling. The CdM girls' soccer team won its three-team pool at the North Orange County Classic on Thursday. The Sea Kings beat Pacifica, 1-0, before topping Fountain Valley, 2-0, at St. Margaret's High. Corona del Mar (8-1) plays against St. Margaret's at 11 a.m. Friday, back at St. Margaret's.

IRVINE - With an experienced rotation that includes five players who collectively average nearly 6-foot-10, the UC Irvine men's basketball team is finding it increasingly difficult to pick on someone its own size these days. And a fledgling Pacifica University squad without a single senior, with no player taller than 6-5, and an enrollment of roughly 100 compared to UCI's 28,000, hardly fit that bill Thursday at Bren Events Center. The result was a record-setting 116-47 trouncing by the Anteaters, who followed a one-point overtime road loss to a storied UCLA program on Tuesday by rolling past a third-year program with scant recorded history.

Costa Mesa (2-2) vs. Pacifica (1-2) When/where: Saturday night, 7 at Bolsa Grande High Key Mustangs: Jr. MLB-FB Oronde Crenshaw (225 yards and two TDs on 28 carries); Sr. QB Noah JeyaRajah (667 yards, six TDs and one INT on 24-of-36 passing); Jr. DB-WR Quinten Bell (three catches for 22 yards and TDs) Key Mariners: Jr. QB Nick Howard (537 yards, nine TDs and six INTs on 51-of-83 passing); Sr. WR Michael Flatebo (14 catches for 115 yards and one TD); Sr. Michael Gehres (112 yards and one TD on 10 carries)

CORONA DEL MAR — Corona del Mar High Coach Steve Conti knows what he has in junior setters Connor Bannan and Michael Ensign. “There are some things that Connor gives us that maybe Michael doesn’t,” he said. “There are some things that [Michael] gives us that maybe Connor doesn’t.” In the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division II boys’ volleyball playoffs, Conti didn’t have to worry about Ensign passing along a bug Friday.

Luxury complex invites buyers to customize homes The developer of Pacifica, a luxury housing complex set to open this year in Westside Costa Mesa, has invited prospective tenants to work with designers to customize their units before the grand opening. The complex at Newport Boulevard and West 19th Street will offer 145 town homes and flats along with a spa, a fitness center, poolside cabanas and more. Jay Rutter, the president of Rutter Development, said designers are eager to work with tenants to plan traditional or contemporary kitchens, tile selection, paint colors and flooring materials.

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL Estancia 52, Santa Ana 51 SANTA ANA — Eagles senior guard Steffi Ramirez made the game-winning jumper with about 20 seconds to play, helping Estancia get its first win of the season in a Century Tournament consolation bracket game Saturday. Freshman Kassie Stratton scored a game-high 22 points for the Eagles (1-3), who were down three with 45 seconds left, Coach Tommy Rausch said. But sophomore guard Erika Soto got a steal and layup, and was fouled.

GARDEN GROVE — It was a bit of senior silliness, really, an opportunity to jump one last time through a window of opportunity that closes on everyone playing in their last high school football game. But the leap Costa Mesa High senior outside linebacker Cody De La Mater made off the back of a Mustangs defensive lineman into the Pacifica backfield before the snap late in Pacifica’s 34-0 victory in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Southern Division playoffs, was, perhaps a fitting metaphor for the Mustangs’ improbable season.

Costa Mesa High went though great turmoil during a seven-game losing skid, but Mustangs football coach Jeremy Osso kept preaching the reality of making the CIF playoffs. Players were suspended, players left the team, Costa Mesa supporters filled message boards trashing Osso, but the second-year coach kept on telling his kids about the playoffs. Now, he’s telling them they can do the impossible. That’s what the Mustangs will try to do when they face Pacifica in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Southern Division playoffs tonight at 7 at Bolsa Grande.