POINT LOMA – With a chance to capture two state playoff regional titles on the same day, one Pointer team rushed the field in victory, and the other somberly walked off the field to gather and acknowledge what a great season they had.
The team that emerged victorious? The girls’ No. 1 seeded softball team, which earlier had become the first CIF softball champion in school history, defeated South Gate Legacy High School 4-1 on June 7 to claim the Southern California Regional plaque.
Jumping out to a 3-0 lead after two innings, the girls added a run in the sixth inning to seal the victory.
Again, it was freshmen players making key contributions to the win. Freshman pitcher Ella Poulin pitched the complete game victory, yielding five hits, one earned run, walking two, and striking out eight while also hitting a triple. Poulin also pitched the complete game CIF championship win.
Siena Balistreri, another freshman, had a double and drove in two runs. Junior Avery MacPherson and senior Nanako Schroth drove in the other runs.
The Pointers finished their historic season with a record of 28-6-1, two championships, and memories to last a lifetime.
Baseball
The toughest pill to swallow for Pointer baseball players was the fact they’d defeated Southern California Regional finalist Rancho Bernardo 10-2 in March and 3-1 on May 31 to win the CIF Div. I championship.
But the lowest (No. 8) seed in the State Regionals fought their way to the title game, as did the No. 6-seeded Pointers, with Point Loma hosting the game by virtue of the higher seed.
This time, it was the Broncos’ day, and they hit the ball hard in a close 2-1 win for the state plaque. The Pointers hit several balls to the warning track that could have reversed the outcome.
The Pointers started senior Marviel Underwood, who was the winning pitcher in the team’s CIF championship game. On that day, he gave up one hit and one unearned run over five innings, walking and striking out a pair.
In the regional final, Underwood gave up four hits and both runs, walking three and striking out four in 3.1 innings. His teammates hit several long balls to the warning track but produced just one run, which came on a Druw Frost double that scored Adrian Gomez, who singled and stole second base. That score, in the fifth inning, gave a large gathering of Pointer fans hope.
The Broncos countered with freshman Brayden Kotera, who had the better line: 5.1 innings pitched, three hits given up, one run, two walks, and only one strikeout.
Each team’s reliever pitched scoreless innings to end the game.
Pointer team captain Ben Waterman knew the game marked the end of his playing career, as he is moving on to Cal Berkeley to major in ecosystem management and forestry.
“We’re not entitled to anything. Every player on this team worked so hard for everything they got,” Waterman said as his teammates collected their equipment. “We expected to hold ourselves to a championship standard, to a selflessness, looking outward and not focusing on yourself, being great teammates, being excited, celebrating everybody else’s success, things only the best teams have.”
Waterman credited head coach Rigo Ledezma for his team’s accomplishments.
“He’s an incredible man and I’m so honored and lucky to have him as my coach,” Waterman said. “The things he’s done for this program, the way he’s turned it around, are just amazing. He’s cultivated a successful culture focused on the people and not just the games.”
Frost, another team captain, said: “We won back-to-back CIF championships, and that was our goal.
We got a new weight trainer who was fantastic, and I knew we could repeat. Early in the season, we were resilient, but we had some guys in and out — we came together in the playoffs and got the job done.
Frost recalled several key moments during the season.
“We got swept by Cathedral and then lost our first playoff game,” he said. “That made every game an elimination game (in the double-elimination playoff), basically life or death out there every day. So coming back to beat Cathedral twice was special, and I was proud of our guys.”
Frost plans to continue his career at a junior college, perhaps Grossmont.
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