Viewpoint's Baseball Team Up For Challenge; Calabasas Hits Rough Patch

It’s a big week for baseball team as Liberty League competition finally begins following a series of rain delays. First comes Yeshiva, but the big game is Friday at Buckley, the Patriots’ biggest rival.

“The Buckley game is always the best game of the year,” Viewpoint pitcher Tyler Sprague said. “I can’t wait to go out there and play them. It’s our big rivalry game, and one of the first league games of the year. You always want to start strong for league.”

Viewpoint (8-4) went 2-2 at the Coachella Valley tournament – mostly against bigger schools. The plan Friday is to pitch Sprague, who is 3-0 with one save, and has a miniscule 1.12 ERA as well as 25 strikeouts in 21 innings. He’s also batting .343 with one home run and seven RBIs.

“Tyler is a really great kid,” coach Frank Pontello said. “He’s really improved this year, much better. He’s starting to mature as a player, and he’s not too emotional on the mound.”

Of the Liberty League’s five teams, Viewpoint is the only one with a winning record. That’s got to make the Patriots feel good about their chances, and a win over Buckley would be just the push start the Patriots want heading into the final stretch.

“Buckley has been our big league rival for the last two or three years,” Pontello said. “We’ve been playing them a long time now, and it’s gotten to be some good competition.”

Alex Leon is batting .500 with 11 runs,  Ryan Nelson is hitting .421 with nine RBIs, and Alex Pachino is batting is batting .326 – including going 5 for 5 against Desert Mirage at the Coachella tournament.

VIEWPOINT’S GOLF TEAM LOOKS TO CLINCH LEAGUE TITLE

Viewpoint’s golf team just returned from a two-week spring break, defeating Webb by 17 strokes (212-239) on Tuesday at Rustic Canyon.

“Both teams showed some rust,” Viewpoint coach Paul Bastedo said.

Viewpoint’s Alex Angard earned medalist honors with an even-par 36, followed by Jake Kester (38), Trevor Kaufman (44), Bobby Webster (46) and Ian Levy (48).

In other Viewpoint news, the boys tennis team is 6-1, including a big win Monday over Santa Monica, a top Southern Section Division II team.

“The boys are starting to re-establish their mentality, and we’re looking forward to what lies ahead,” coach Travis Kikugawa said.

In Volleyball, the boys defeated Glendale Adventist in straight sets Friday, then beat Oakwood in straight sets on Tuesday.

In the first win, Jack Borenstein had 31 assists, and Drew Johnston had 11 kills, and in the win over Oakwood, Viewpoint boy’s volleyball beat Glendale Adventist at home with scores of 25-12, 25-8, 25-15. Borenstein led all players in assists with 31 and Drew Johnston led all players in kills with 11.

The match took a breezy 45 minutes, and Borenstein had 25 assists and Mark Chors had nine kills, while Jason Hassaneih had 10 digs. J.P. Larsen chipped in three services aces, as Viewpoint improved to 5-5 and 4-0 in league, moving up to No. 3 in the Division V coaches poll.

“Oakwood won the Liberty league last year, snapping our nine-year run as league champions, so it was time for redemption,” Viewpoint coach Bryon Goff said.

CALABASAS BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL LOOK TO BREAK OUT OF FUNK

It’s been a rough stretch for Calabasas’ baseball team as the Coyotes (6-10, 2-6) have lost three in a row heading into a game at Agoura today. Alex Rubanowitz leads in home runs (three) and RBIs (11).

The softball team is 6-9, 1-6 after losing six in row. The girls look to break the streak Thursday against visiting Simi Valley.