The San Diego CIF baseball playoffs are structured for teams with tremendous depth, especially in pitching, which had been a Point Loma Pointer strength all season.
But playing four games in a five-day span proved the Pointers’ undoing, beginning with a game in which their normally solid pitching and defense were apparently lost somewhere along the winding state Highway 67 to rural Ramona.
The playoffs began with a near-perfect play-in round game against El Camino. Mitchell Sardo and Justin DaLuz each collected two hits, Jared Bacon ripped a triple to drive in a run and Frank Rogozienski’s double plated two runs while Andrew Johnson went the distance on the mound, giving up six hits in a 3-0 Point Loma victory that ended the Wildcats’ season.
Next up for the No. 5 seeded Dogs was a visit to rural Ramona, the home team by virtue of its No. 4 seed.
After surveying the Ramona field, with its long, slow-playing grass surface, Pointer head coach David Wells called it a “dangerous bandbox” with its short right field fence, and sure enough, it was the Bulldogs who made music.
First, starting pitcher Sardo felt pain in his pitching arm and elbow and could not continue after a first inning in which he had trouble finding the plate, walking two batters and yielding two hits as the Bulldogs took a 2-1 lead.
From there, a parade of Pointers took the mound, with only Roman Paniagua escaping unharmed. Paniagua needed only two pitches to erase the only batter he faced.
Four other Pointer pitchers were each roughed up for at least two hits and two runs each, walking seven and only striking out two as the Pointers surrendered a season-high 15 runs. The Dogs did rebound to score six runs in their last at-bat in the 15-9 fiasco.
Next up was a home elimination game against No. 9 seeded Mission Hills, and Matt Amberg made sure the Pointer season would continue when he hit an 11th inning walk-off single to break a 4-4 tie and electrify a big crowd in what will be recalled as the most dramatic moment of the season.
It was also to be the final run scored by the Pointers in their successful season.
Bacon again led the offense with three hits and two RBI’s and Amberg had two hits and two stolen bases, while Santiago Gomez and Rogozienski each had RBI’s.
The team’s reward? Another elimination game at Ramona.
This time starting pitcher Santiago Gomez only gave up six hits and two earned runs in a complete game performance but received only three hits from his offense as the Bulldogs ended the Pointers season with a 2-0 shutout.
Ben Berry, Amberg and Sardo stroked singles in the season-ending loss.
On Monday, the entire Pointer baseball team gathered at the Bali Hai restaurant on Shelter Island for a gala celebration of the best season in recent memory for the program.
Wells, joined by varsity assistants Dave Camara, Kyle Harvey and Mike Delgado, presented awards and game jerseys to six departing seniors:
– Amberg, a centerfielder who made numerous spectacular catches, was named Defensive Player of the Year. He is headed to Sonoma State University.
– Johnson was named Pitcher of the Year. He compiled a 7-2 record, 1.05 ERA, walked 17 and struck out 52. He plans to major in economics at University of Oregon.
– Gomez is continuing his education by majoring in aerospace engineering at San Jose State University.
– Rogozienski will continue his career at American University, majoring in international studies and security.
– Paniagua will be making a bid to join the team at Grossmont College while studying exercise science and wellness.
– Dan Berry will be attending University of North Carolina and majoring in chemistry.
– Junior Bacon was named Offensive Player of the Year, with a batting average of .348, an on-base percentage of .411 and slugging percentage of .424.
– Junior Justin DaLuz, the team’s shortstop, was named Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year after coaches raved about his .981 finding percentage that included 104 putouts in 106 chances.
– Finally, junior pitcher Sardo was named winner of the Coach Delgado Award, presented to the player “Who leads by example on and off the field through unselfishness, dedication to his team, classmates and community, your hard work and the desire to constantly learn and improve.” He is the first junior ever to receive the award. CIF champions
Shot putter Davey Folsom and triple jumper Altan Mitchell each earned CIF championships in recent track and field finals.