Viewpoint nails down baseball title
Protest gives team second chance to finish the job
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

High school baseball coaches often say that if the planets are aligned correctly, their team could win a championship. Turns out Viewpoint just needed proper dimensions on a baseball field.

After briefly thinking its season was over following a 8-7 loss to Avalon High in the CIFSouthern Section Division VII semifinals, Viewpoint (19-8) learned the next day that manager Frank Pontello's protest of inadequate field conditions at Machado Field had been accepted by the CIF and the game was ordered to be replayed.

The Patriots took advantage of the CIF's ruling by beating Avalon in the rematch. On Saturday at the section title game in Irvine, the Patriots defeated Upland Christian 7-2 for the Division VII championship.

"We're the first team in CIF history to lose a playoff game and still win the whole thing," junior catcher Harrison Bernsen said. "That feels pretty good."

The title was Pontello's first in his 19 years at the helm of the school's baseball program.

Pontello said he didn't get much sleep after the loss to Avalon but was confident the game would be replayed.

The protested game against Avalon featured a field where first base was 92 feet away from home plate, as opposed to the standard 90 feet. The pitching rubber was 64 feet from the plate, as opposed to 60 feet, 6 inches, and the outfield fences were a short 240 feet.

"I heard on Memorial Day that some things on the field might be a little off at Avalon's field," Pontello said. "I figured we would just deal with it and worry about winning. When I got to the field, however, I saw that it was worse than I imagined.

"Baseball is such a traditional game, so you must have the playing conditions right, especially at that point in the season."

Senior Ben Salzman was confused before he knew the game would be replayed.

"It was a weird feeling," Salzman said. "I didn't know what to think. This is my senior year- was it really going to end like this?

"The next day I heard from a student in class that CIF had ruled in favor of our protest. I went right away to find Pontello, and I knew we were still alive because he had this big smile on his face."

Viewpoint rebounded to win the rematch, 6-3, to advance to the finale against Upland Christian, who defeated the Patriots last season in the section title game.

The outcome this year would be different.

"I think being there last year and losing helped us," senior Michael Cameron said.

"We played with a big chip on our shoulder. I don't think Upland Christian took us seriously at all. They came off the field with their shirts untucked after infield practice and were joking around. We were much more focused than them."

Cameron channeled that focus in the third inning when he hit a 2-0 fastball over the left-field fence for a three-run home run that gave Viewpoint a 5-0 lead.

"I think that ball is still going," Salzman said of his teammate's blast. "It's deep in orbit somewhere."

The five runs were all the Patriots would need, and with a 7-2 lead in the seventh, sophomore Gil Brozki got an Upland Christian batter to fly out to center fielder Jeff Safenowitz for the final out.

"When we got the last out, it was just total euphoria," Cameron said. "It was one of the best moments of my life. The whole team just knew that this was our year."