Local prep baseball observers labeled this year’s five-team Western League the toughest in San Diego’s CIF section with St. Augustine, Cathedral Catholic, and Patrick Henry all ranked in the county Top 10. So how did Point Loma’s Pointers respond?
The Pointers raised local eyebrows by sweeping their two-game series against the No. 1 Saints and elevated themselves into the local Top 10, debuting last week at No. 9 as the Saints fell to No. 4. And it was a pair of ace Pointer pitchers that carried the brooms.
The first game was a classic pitcher’s duel on David Wells Field as senior ace William Sanford threw six shutout innings before Druw Frost lofted a fly ball to left field that went over the head of a pulled-in Saints outfielder allowing Griffin Ice to beat the throw and score from second base for a walk-off 1-0 win that thrilled a large crowd of Pointer supporters.
Then, on April 19 at Hickman Field, Pointer bats awoke for 10 hits as the Pointers posted a 7-1 win, junior ace Matthew Garrison throwing six innings while giving up four hits and just one run. Brayden Taylor, Eli Montgomery, and Frost each had two hits while Keeling and Taylor each had two RBIs. Other RBIs went to Frost, Montgomery, and Kai Dickinson.
Next up was a two-game series against Patrick Henry and again the first game was a battle of elite pitchers.
Sanford took the mound for the Pointers at home, leaving after seven shutout innings, giving up only two singles while walking three and striking out eight. Dickinson and Marvel Underwood came on to hold the Patriots scoreless during two extra innings before the scoreless game was suspended due to darkness.
Last Friday on the Patriots’ beautiful field Garrison stymied the Patriots, tossing a full game (seven innings) of scoreless ball as neither team could plate a run.
But in the top of the eighth inning, a single by second baseman Adrian Gomez, one of his two hits on the day, led to an RBI single by Frost that touched off a celebration among Pointer players. But the celebration was short-lived.
In the home half of the inning, two Pointer relievers struggled, hitting one Patriot player and committing a throwing error to put players on base. Both players scored, the last on a walk-off hit to end a tense 2-1 Pointer loss.
Currently sitting at 12-6-4 overall, the Pointers are listed third in Western League standings (3-1-2) partly due to the pair of suspended games. If the Pointers were to win both “tied” league games, they would be 5-1 and atop the standings. The Pointers are ranked No. 3 in CIF Div. II.
In Sanford and Garrison, the Pointers may have the top pair of starting pitchers in the section. Playing against two Top 10 teams and Madison in league play to date, their numbers would make Cy Young himself envious.
Sanford has an ERA of 0.00. His WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) is .667. He has walked nine and struck out 34 for a 3.78 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Garrison’s numbers are an ERA of .050 and a WHIP of .950, and he has walked four while striking out 22 for a 5.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Pointer fielders are also outstanding. They include Ice, who remains errorless in 20 chances (1.000 fielding percentage) after making spectacular diving catches while playing left, center, and right field. Catcher Kannan Virgilio is at .994 followed by Frost (.983), Dickinson (.979), Gomez (.970), and Sanford (.967). The team average is .957.
This week the Pointers met longtime nemesis Cathedral Catholic, the section’s newest top-ranked team, in their league series. The regular season concludes next week with games at Christian on Wednesday, May 8, and at home on Friday, May 10.
EXTRA INNINGS
It is unlikely any of the four suspended Pointer games will be completed, thus confusing rankings, league standings, and playoff pairings. Hopefully, CIF will return to 3:30 p.m. starts in 2025.
The Pointers are playoff-bound. Rankings and opening playoff schedules will be announced tomorrow, May 11. The double-elimination playoffs are held at the home of the highest seeded team on May 14 (for teams seeded 5-12), 15, 17, 18, 21, and 23. The championship game for the Pointers’ Div. II will be held at UCSD’s Triton Field at 7 p.m. on May 24.
