Patriot baseball squad enjoyed banner season
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

When he was 18 years old Frank Pontello visited UC Riverside's baseball field for the first game of his collegiate career at the University of Eastern Michigan.

Although 27 years had passed since he had last been on the field, it was the site of the greatest accomplishment of Pontello's 18year coaching career at Viewpoint School when he guided the Patriots to the CIF-Southern Section Division VII championship game last Saturday morning.

The Patriots lost the championship game to Upland, 5-2, but Pontello was still very proud of Viewpoint's season. VHS went undefeated in league and finished with an overall record of 22-5.

"It was sad to not win it (the championship game), but we had nothing to be ashamed of. We left no stone unturned," Pontello said.

"This was the type of team that losing the final game wasn't enough for them. Yeah, we lost, but the bigger picture is we got to the championship game the right way- by working hard."

The Patriots were led by a talented senior class.

The team had six seniors, five of them starters. Co-captain Michael Bianco had a great year in his fourth and final season on the varsity squad by hitting .365. Other captains such as Will Blackman, Matt Gilbert and Josh Dver also contributed on offense. Blackman hit .431, Dver batted .370 and Gilbert posted a .289 average.

"Usually I only have three captains, but all four of those guys were so dedicated, and I didn't want to leave anyone out," Pontello said.

"In the past we would have guys on our team that would work really hard for a year or two but when their senior year came they would slack off a little because they were more comfortable. Not this team. Not these guys."

Blackman said a road trip to Arizona halfway through the season really helped the team's confidence. While in Arizona, Viewpoint beat Scottsdale Christian and Valley Christian of Chandler.

"Last year we lost to Scottsdale Christian 20-7, and this year we went to Arizona and beat them twice," Blackman said. "So we had a lot more confidence after that. Guys started to swing the bats and our pitchers really came around after that."

Leadership was shown by Bianco, who re-injured his ACL for the third time in his career but only missed two weeks.

"He was out a little while but came back with a brace and showed a lot of heart by playing tough with an injury," Pontello said. "He was sort of a rallying point for us this season."

The captains weren't the only ones contributing.

Senior Spencer Brown put in a stellar year at the plate by hitting .392. Michael Cameron, who transferred from Calabasas High, led the team with a .491 batting average and 33 RBI.

Guiding the Patriots on the mound was Dver, who went 12-2 with an ERA of 1.96.

"Josh came to our team last year, and he has been great," Pontello said.

Blackman said although the team didn't win the CIF-SS title, this season at Viewpoint was his favorite.

"This year we came in well prepared and gave it our best shot," he said. "It stinks that we lost the championship game, but in one game anything can happen. If this was a five-game series I would really like our chances."