Point Loma’s Pointer baseball program celebrated its season during a recent banquet at Bali Hai restaurant.
While the varsity team fell short of earning a spot in CIF playoffs, there were still many individual and team successes to acknowledge.
“I thought we had the team to win the league,” head coach and Pointer alum David Wells told a gathering of more than 200 players, parents and program boosters. “But it just didn’t happen this year.”
Injuries to key players, as Wells noted, factored in to the team’s performance.
Overall, the varsity Pointers finished 12-16, a record that left them ranked 14th among 19 teams in the CIF’s Div. II power rankings. Only 12 were selected for post-season play.
In Western League standings, the Pointers finished 4-8, ahead of only Mission Bay, a team that beat them twice in three meetings, including two crucial late-season contests.
A five-game losing streak from April 5-18 that included league games with Madison, University City and La Jolla was followed by a win over Mission Bay and another three-game losing streak that left the Pointers burdened with a 1-6 league mark and largely sealed their fate.
Catcher Jared Bacon, only a sophomore, was named Defensive Most Valuable Player of the Year for his error-free season in 25 games behind the plate.
Another underclassman, junior Roman Paniagua, was named Pitcher of the Year. Paniagua had an earned run average of 1.94 in 11 appearances covering 21.2 innings. Opponents batted .222 against him.
The team’s Most Valuable Player, junior Mathew Anberg, stood out in several categories. His .333 batting average led the team, as did his 33 hits and his 19 stolen bases.
The only senior among team honors was backup catcher Connor Carr who received the Coach Delgado Leadership Award for his continual effort, hustle and support that made him a favorite among teammates.
Eleven players were honored for their academic achievement, led by junior Aidan Yackly (4.50 grade point average), seniors Seth Urbon (4.33) and Spencer Gedestad (4.25).
College choices for seniors include Trevor Allen (SDSU); Cole van den Helder (Univ. of Oregon); Urbon (Georgia Tech); Gedestad (UC Davis); Philip Huber (Cal Maritime); Brady Young and Matt Lombardi (Palomar CC); and Carr (USD).
The Pointers junior varsity team had an excellent 21-4 overall record and their 11-1 league mark gave them a Western League championship.
Head coach Kyle Harvey introduced his 23 players, and pitcher Austin Correia, who threw a perfect game at La Jolla, was thrilled when Wells presented him a baseball signed by all New York Yankee players to pitch perfect games including himself, David Cone and fellow PLHS alum Don Larsen.
Freshman team players, under head coach Jeff Solis, compiled a 13-7 overall record, including 9-2 in league play. Solis and his assistants prepared an individual honor for each of the 20 members of their team.
