Patriots primed for postseason run

Liberty League champion Viewpoint (14-8) is looking for another strong showing in the CIF-Southern Section Division VII baseball playoffs.

Coming off last season's runnerup finish and the departure of six key seniors, Patriot head coach Frank Pontello rallied his troops and put together another fine regular season.

"Having lost all those guys, I'm really proud of how we were able to pull off the league title this year," Pontello said.

Viewpoint's biggest offensive threat has been junior catcher Harrison Bernsen, the team's leading hitter with a .532 average, three home runs, 20 RBI and 13 stolen bases.

Shortstop Jordan Kaplan (.438 average, 28 RBI), third baseman/pitcher Michael Cameron (.435 average, three HRs), first baseman Mat Schur (.409 average, 14 runs) and utility player/pitcher Ben Salzman (.369, 17 stolen bases) fuel the Patriots' offensive attack.

VHS plays La Sierra today at 5 p.m. at Birmingham High.

Despite struggling at times during the season, both the Oak Park High and Oaks Christian baseball teams qualified for the CIF-SS Division IV bracket.

Oak Park (9-14), third-place finisher in the Tri-Valley League, plays at Freeway League champion Sonora Friday at 3:15 p.m.

Oaks Christian, only 8-22 during the regular season, earned an atlarge bid. The Lions lost their wild-card game at San Ynez Tuesday afternoon.

- Stephen Dorman