SAN DIEGO – After his Pointers dropped their first CIF Div. I playoff game despite their No. 3 seed and home field advantage, head coach Rigo Ledezma had a feeling about his team and the 28 teens he has coached since their season began in the weight room in September.
“After that first loss to La Jolla Country Day, I noticed some things that happened in our dugout with our players that showed we had a little fight,” Ledezma said. “We gave them two runs in the first inning and shut them out.”
Indeed, there was fight in his players and not a little but a lot as the Pointers went on a tear that saw them defeat Santa Fe Christian and La Jolla Country Day in a rematch that sent the team to its biggest challenge of the season: Two must-win games at Cathedral Catholic, a team that had just swept a three-game Western League series from the Pointers,
What followed was perhaps the greatest two days in recent Pointer sports history.
On May 27, a classic game saw Marviel Underwood (four innings) and Luis Lara (six innings in relief) shut out the Dons until Druw Frost knocked in Adrian Gomez in the 10th inning for a 1-0 Pointer win.
The next day, Phoenix Brant took the mound for the Pointers and threw another shutout at Cathedral, using only 62 pitches to end the Dons’ season and advance his team to the CIF title game. Brant also had an RBI, as did Ben Waterman in the 2-0 win, a high-water mark for Pointer baseball.
Point Loma celebrates on Cunningham Field at Fowler Park on the USD campus after winning its second consecutive CIF Championship, defeating Rancho Bernardo 3-1. (Photo by Steven Silva/Special to Peninsula Beacon)At this point, it seemed nobody could defeat the Pointers, and the CIF title game proved the point.
This time, the Pointers met Rancho Bernardo at Fowler Park on the University of San Diego campus before a capacity crowd, where they finished off the top-seeded Broncos 3-1 to secure the team’s second consecutive CIF championship.
Again, Underwood took the mound and turned in five strong innings, allowing just one hit, an unearned run, walking and striking out a pair. Lara came on to close the game with two perfect innings while striking out three.
Frost was hit by a pitch in the top of the first inning, the 10th time he’s been plunked this season. He came around to score and give the Pointers a 1-0 lead.
After the Broncos tied the game in the second inning, the Pointers put it away in the fifth. Singles by Dylan Upjohn, Wyatt Smith, and Frost scored one run before Smith scored the final run on a bases-loaded walk, and the celebration was on.
Championship game balls were presented to Underwood, Luis Lara, and coach Jon Posternak.
Ledezma described what made the 2025 Pointers special.
“I would say believing that their best days are still ahead of them,” he said, “and their ability to respond. Whatever happened, they never gave up and just kept responding and responding and responding.”
Ledezma, who has been a national Coach of the Year, uses a wide variety of strategies and activities to teach, build, and solidify team bonding and interpersonal relations. His players learn far more than pitching and hitting, throwing and catching. They reward him with efforts not likely seen on other teams, and he will carry lifetime memories of their playing days.
At the team banquet on June 2, the following awards were presented:
Silver Slugger: Brant. Gold Glove: Hunter Reddeg. Cy Young: Underwood. Teammate of the Year: Waterman. Most Improved Player: Wyatt Olson Coach Delgado Award: Waterman. Harvey Family Scholarships: Jackson Leitz and Waterman.Game notes
The Pointers accomplished their second consecutive CIF title after being moved up from Div. II to Div. I in the CIF San Diego Section.
Ledezma announced all-league. First team honors went to senior pitcher and outfielder Brant, while second-team honors went to Hunter Reddeg and Frost.
In SoCal CIF playoffs, the Pointers are seeded No. 6 in Div. II. They defeated No. 3 El Camino Real High School of Woodland Hills 6-4 on June 3 and on June 5 will meet either No. 2 seed St. Joseph of Santa Maria or No. 7 seed San Dimas High School of San Dimas, with the winner earning a spot in the championship on June 7.
Ledezma has coached four teams to CIF finals, winning three of them.
Injuries to talented players left fans wondering how good the team could have been. First was sophomore catcher Cole Williams, soon followed by 2024 all-CIF senior pitcher Matthew Garrison. Later, it was senior infielder Branden Keeling. All three suffered season-ending injuries.
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