As the Eastern League baseball schedule winds down, the Pointers will have to sweep their current series with league opponent La Jolla if they are to repeat as league champions.
And even then, Mira Mesa and Serra will have to lose at least three of their five remaining games if the Pointers are to come out on top.
At present, the Pointers, Marauders and Conquistadors have each won five league games but the Pointers (5-4) have played, and lost, two more games than the other two (5-2).
The Pointers have yet to sweep any of the three-game series that comprise league play. They’ve gone 2-1 against both Patrick Henry and Serra but lost two of three against Mira Mesa.
Fortunately, La Jolla has proven to be the league’s weakest team, turning in records of 1-6 in league and 6-17 overall.
The Vikings and Pointers met earlier this week in La Jolla and meet again next Monday (home) and Wednesday (La Jolla) to conclude the regular season.
For the Pointers (12-11 overall) it’s been a matter of scoring enough runs to support generally good pitching. The team is giving up a stingy 3.1 runs per game but scoring just slightly more (4.3).
Perhaps the Pointers’ extra-inning loss to Mira Mesa last week (4-3 in 9 innings) was a microcosm of their struggles this season. The Pointers jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first inning as leadoff batter Duce Gourson reached base on a Marauder error. After a first out, Ben Berry was hit by a pitch before A.J. Schrader’s double scored Gourson.
Starting pitcher Austin Correia went through 1-2-3 innings in the first and second before a Pointer error allowed the No. 8 Marauder hitter to reach base in the third. The runner stole second base before Correia gave up a triple to the leadoff hitter to score one run and his wild pitch allowed the Marauders to take a 2-1 lead after three innings.
The Marauders increased their lead to 3-1 in their fifth on two singles and a double. 
The Pointers stranded runners in the third and fifth before Connor Ludwig led off the sixth with a triple and cut the lead in half when he stole home while the Marauders failed to catch Joe DaLuz in a rundown between first and second bases.
In the Pointers’ last-chance seventh, pinch hitter RJ Larocco lifted a one-out single into left-center that was misplayed by the Marauders as Larocco slid into third on the two-base error.
At that moment, a balk was called on the Mira Mesa pitcher, sending the Pointer bench into a frenzy and infuriating the Marauder coaching staff as Larocco trotted across home plate to tie the game at three.
Starting pitcher Correia had to be lifted after seven innings when his pitch count reached the prep limit of 110. Schrader took the mound in relief.
The Marauders threatened in the 8th before Ludwig caught a fly ball in center field and gunned down their runner at the plate for a double play.
The Pointers went meekly in their 8th except for Gourson’s single.
The Marauders’ leadoff batter in the 9th, their cleanup hitter, lofted a long home run to left center, boosting the score to 4-3 and putting pressure on the Pointers once again.
Schrader’s second hit of the game with one out gave brief hope, but he was erased on a fielder’s choice before a groundout ended the three-hour marathon.
For the game, the Pointers had baserunners in eight of nine innings. They had seven hits, were walked four times and three players were hit by pitches. Only three of these baserunners scored.
For the game, Correia gave up five hits, walked only one and struck out seven. Of the three runs the Marauders scored only one was earned.
Schrader gave up two hits in his two-inning appearance, walking none and striking out two. He was charged with the loss.
The Pointers’ last home game of the regular season will be next Monday, May 14 at 3:30 p.m. EXTRA POINTS:
The CIF playoff seeding meeting is set for May 19. The Pointers, in Div. II, are currently in 9th place with the top 12 selected for post-season play. The final season games and some special circumstances could help or hurt the Pointers’ chances. For example, league champions automatically receive playoff berths.
Pitcher Mitchell Sardo had a complete game one-hitter in a 2-1 win over Serra. Pinch-hitter Josh Ball had the game-winning RBI in the Pointers’ last at-bat.