The Point Loma High School (PLHS) Pointers baseball team — off to its best start in recent years at 12-2 — won the City Tournament on April 4 for the first time in 17 years with a 12-9 victory over Scripps Ranch. “We have a nice mix this season,” said PLHS head baseball coach Jon Posternack. “Some of our young players have stepped it up along with our returning veterans and have given us a strong pitching staff and an explosive offense.” The City Tournament is a traditional non-league baseball event which includes 16 teams from the Eastern, Western and Harbor Leagues. Point Loma was one of four teams representing the traditionally competitive Western League. The Pointers’ explosive offense has been a team effort thus far, with a few players hitting well over .300. Senior third baseman Coleman Cox is batting .426, senior second baseman Ridge Deakman is hitting .527 and junior catcher Sean Stepina is batting .319. “Cox currently bats second in our lineup and is both a versatile player and disciplined hitter,” Posternack said. “Besides being a great athlete, he is also a good student. I believe that he’ll be playing college baseball next year.” Senior Matt Arlington is another talented senior player and has committed to San Diego State University next season. The pitching staff has also made an impact thanks to a couple of young arms in sophomore Kellen Urbon and freshman Connor Baits. Urbon has become the ace of the pitching staff this season, sporting a 5-0 record and 2.20 ERA. His performance against Scripps Ranch helped clinch the City Tournament for the Pointers. “He’s not the biggest kid (at 5’11″), but he’s a strike machine,” Posternack said. “He throws a fastball, curve and change-up pitches. He can also eat up a lot of innings and rarely walks anyone.” Freshman Connor Baits is 3-1 this season. Senior pitchers Zac Hile, Kevin Hilton and Jake Martin have also made significant contributions to the overall team effort, according to Posternack. During Posternack’s first season as Pointer skipper in 2005, the team struggled to a 10-16 record but improved steadily for each of the next two years. In 2006, the team was 13-17 and in 2007 PLHS improved to 17-15. Last year, the team finished at a .500 mark at 13-13. “The freshmen and sophomores have really stepped it up and our senior leadership is much stronger this year,” said Cox. “Our team is a much better, closer-knit group. I think we are going to go far this year.” Cox believes the difference between 2008 and 2009 is that the team came out more focused and ready to play this season than last year. The Pointers opened Western League play this week against Coronado and will have future home dates against Mission Bay on April 21 and La Jolla on April 23 — both 3 p.m. games. “We have accomplished some of our goals so far but not nearly all of them,” Posternack said. “Our goal this year is to first win the Western League title and then win some playoffs and hopefully be in a position to play at Tony Gwynn Stadium for the CIF title.”