Point Loma rallies late to beat El Cap in softball

It’s as if Point Loma High School’s softball team altered its logo this season. Forget the charming little Pointer puppy. This spring, the logo seemed to be a huge circle with a big dot right smack in the middle.

Because after last year’s section and SoCal Regional championships, the Pointers have been wearing a target on their backs.

“It feels like we’re getting everyone’s No. 1 pitcher,” coach Bill Hunyady said.

“We’re definitely a team people want to say they’ve beat,” said senior catcher Avery MacPherson.

After losing four of their last five games and struggling at the plate, seventh-ranked Point Loma eradicated some frustration Tuesday night at Correia Middle School, coming from behind to defeat El Capitan 7-2.

The Pointers waited and waited to put the Vaqueros away. They came up in the bottom of the sixth trailing 2-0.

Freshman Kendall Vickers led off the inning. Before Vickers stepped to the plate, Avery MacPherson, the Pointers’ next hitter, delivered the ninth-grader a message.

“If you hit it up in the air (for an out), you’re running (at practice),” said Avery MacPherson, whose sister Leyton plays first base.

Instead, Vickers roped a single to right field.

Avery MacPherson followed with a two-run homer to right-center field, her third home run of the season.

“That,” said Avery MacPherson, “was relief.”

Then came a double by Leyton MacPherson, an error, a two-run triple by freshman Remington Spangler, a squeeze bunt single by Madison Dudley, a couple more hits and after putting across no runs the first five innings, the Pointers hung a seven-spot on the scoreboard.

“We were kind of grinding (in the game) and for the season,” said Hunyady. “We were getting no runs. The sixth inning? That looked like last year’s team. We kind of put it together.”

Point Loma improved to 6-4. El Capitan, 11th in the Union-Tribune’s weekly rankings, fell to 7-5.

The Pointers’ problem coming into the game was at plate. A year ago, when Point Loma won the first section and SoCal title in program history, the team averaged 5.7 runs per game. They came into Tuesday averaging 3.2 runs per game.

The breakthrough against a very good El Cap team gave Point Loma a sigh of relief.

“We don’t lose anymore,” one player hollered amidst the postgame celebration in front of the home dugout.

“We say the season starts now,” said Avery MacPherson. “That all was just a warmup.”

Point Loma is blessed with some excellent pitching. Sophomore Ella Poulin anchored the staff last year, posting a 14-4 record. She pitched the first three innings against El Cap, giving up two runs.

In stepped Spangler, a hard-throwing lefty. She got the win, covering the last four innings, allowing just one hit and striking out seven.

“Remmy is so good,” said Avery MacPherson. “She’s really good at coming in and just taking out teams.”

And what did the senior catcher think of Spangler’s go-ahead triple?

“That,” said MacPherson, “was sick.”