With Eastern League play fully underway, Point Loma High’s baseball team sits atop the standings after playing two of its four opponents. With an overall record of 10-8 and 3-1 in league play, the Pointers have the best overall mark in the league. Only Serra (10-9, 1-1) does not have a losing record to date.
Other league teams include Mira Mesa (8-9, 3-1), Patrick Henry (6-12, 2-3) and La Jolla (6-13, 1-4).
This year’s format calls for a three-game series against each opponent, but only Henry was scheduled to meet the Pointers in three consecutive games, all played at PLHS’ David Wells Field due to field renovations underway at Henry.
The Pointers inflicted 11-1 and 8-1 whippings on the Patriots before dropping the series finale 3-2 when four errors led to all the Henry runs.
Freshman Duce Gourson, who leads the Pointers overall with a .357 batting average, went 3 for 9 in the series with a double, triple and 5 RBI’s.
Senior A. J. Schrader (.273) went 5-8 with 5 runs scored, a double and RBI.
Also having a big series against the Patriots was sophomore Hunter Otjen (.314) who went 3-10, with a double and 2 RBI.
Sophomore Jeffrey Barber (.290) went 3-9 with 3 doubles and an RBI. Senior Justin DaLuz (.256) went 3-6, scoring 4 runs.
In their earlier first league game, the Pointers downed Serra 9-3 with Gourson and Shrader collecting two hits apiece while junior Ben Berry (.315) had 3 RBI.
As a team, the Pointers are hitting a tepid .268 with 28 doubles and 10 triples. They have stolen 40 bases (Berry and Otjen lead with seven each). In the field, regular players who remain errorless include Gourson, Otjen, sophomore Conor Ludwig and Barber.
On the mound, senior Austin Correia leads the team with a 3-1 record, eight walks and 21 strikeouts. He has a 3.82 ERA and opponents are batting .277 against him.
Senior Mitchell Sardo has a 2-1 record, has yielded 14 walks and struck out 32. He has a 1.50 ERA and opponents are batting .115 against him.
Junior Austin Curtice is 2-2 with 12 walks and 29 strikeouts. He has a 1.27 ERA and opponents are batting .200 against him.
Senior reliever Dylan Vaughn has 10 appearances covering 18.1 innings. He has a 1-0 record, has not walked a batter and struck out 13. He has an ERA of 1.53 and opponents are batting .164 against him.
“I’m not too worried about this league,” said head coach David Wells following the Henry series win. “We haven’t played La Jolla or Mira Mesa yet, and those two teams are struggling. It’s just a matter of us going out and playing our game and going out there and capitalize. “Even though we didn’t hit the ball very well today, it’s one game at a time. Go out and have a good approach every pitch, every at bat and pull together as a team. That’s how you do it.”
His Pointers have seven league games left before CIF Div. II playoffs begin. Currently, the Dogs rank ninth of 20 in the division. League foes Serra, Mira Mesa, Henry and La Jolla rank 10th, 12th, 17th and 19th respectively. Remaining Pointer Schedule
Date Opponent Location April 27 Mira Mesa Home
April 30 Serra Away
May 2 Serra Away
May 4 Mira Mesa Home
May 7 La Jolla Away
May 9 Eastlake Home*
May 14 La Jolla Home
May 16 La Jolla Away *Non-league game played at Point Loma Nazarene
University.
All games are at 3:30 p.m. and are free to attend.
Home games on David Wells Field at Dana Middle
School. Easter League Standings
Team League Record Overall Record
Point Loma 3-1 10-8
Mira Mesa 3-1 8-9
Serra 1-1 10-9
Patrick Henry 2-3 6-12
La Jolla 1-4 6-13
