It’s been over one year since Point Loma High athletes won a CIF title but they are now poised to win two within a week.
After the boys lacrosse team defeated Del Norte last Saturday for the Div. II banner, the No. 1 seeded Pointer baseball team has qualified for the championship game on May 24 against No. 3 seed Bonita Vista.
The Pointers’ record stands at 17-8-4 while the Barons are 21-10-1. They finished 5-4 in the Metro Mesa League behind Eastlake. Ironically, the Pointers and Barons met on March 20 with the game ending after 10 innings with the score tied 1-1.
The game is set for UC San Diego’s Triton Field at 7 p.m.
The Pointers’ march to the finals included wins over Scripps Ranch (3-2), Maranatha Christian (7-2), and Maranatha Christian again (4-1).
The Pointers have been able to use their two starting pitchers for most playoff innings with relievers sometimes finishing up.
Against Scripps Ranch, Will Sanford threw 5.1 innings, walking four and striking out 12. Kai Dickinson pitched the final 1.2 innings without allowing a hit. Brayden Taylor had two hits including a double and RBI. Adrian Gomez also had a double and RBI.
Against Maranatha Christian in their first meeting, it was Matthew Garrison pitching a complete game, walking one and striking out eight while scattering five hits. Dickinson and Eli Montgomery each had two RBI while Taylor, Griffin Ice, and Gomez each had one. Doubles were hit by Dickinson and Kannan Virgilio.
In the second game with Maranatha Christian, Sanford again tossed 5.1 innings, walking five and striking out nine. Dickinson again came on to finish up, walking two and striking out two. Sanford had two doubles and Dickinson drove in two. Ice settled matters in the home half of the sixth inning with a monster home run to left center field that traveled 390 feet and deflated the Eagles.
Ice followed up his home run with a highlight-reel over-the-shoulder catch in center field to end the game. The Eagles were hurt by three errors, one of which allowed both Druw Frost and Sanford to score and take a first-inning lead.
The Pointers’ remarkable season is largely the result of practices and procedures put in place by new head coach Rigo Ledezma, which have resulted in disciplined players and a coaching staff with clearly defined responsibilities that result in a united effort by all.
