Marina Takes Some Meetings on Its Way to Tonight’s Title Game : 5-A Division: Catcher Lindsey at the center of off-field confrontations that helped put Vikings in final with Diamond Bar.

It wasn’t a game-winning hit or a change in personnel that helped to turn around Marina High School’s baseball program. Three off-the-field meetings steered the Vikings toward tonight’s Southern Section 5-A championship game at Anaheim Stadium.

First, there was a meeting last year between Coach Paul Renfrow and catcher Robin Lindsey after Renfrow suspended Lindsey from the team for two days when the catcher walked off during practice.

Then there was a team meeting during which players discussed their roles and performances.

Finally, there was a heated argument between Lindsey and pitcher Sean Patterson in the school parking lot following a 10-5 loss to Edison in the first round of Sunset League play.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Lindsey, Marina’s often-animated and emotional leader, was at the center of the three meetings.

When Lindsey was asked who did most of the talking at the team meeting, he didn’t hesitate.

“Me,” he said. “I’m not afraid to say what’s on my mind. I don’t beat around the bush. We had guys who should be hitting singles going for the fences and support players complaining because they weren’t starting.”

Asked what he told Patterson in the parking lot, Lindsey said, “I told him he was letting the team down. We yelled at each other for 30 minutes and almost came to blows. Since then, Sean’s been 7-0.”

Finally, asked why he walked off the practice field as a junior and said he was quitting the team, Lindsey said, “I was tired of losing. I had played on winning teams all my life and couldn’t take it any more. I was tired of the losing attitude.”

Lindsey doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, but he has never been afraid to offer an opinion to his coaches, or take some criticism from them. He is the spiritual leader of a team that has scored four upsets in the postseason, including a 4-1 victory Tuesday over Westlake, USA Today’s No. 1-ranked team.

Lindsey leads Marina (16-12-1) into tonight’s championship game against Diamond Bar (21-8) with a new-found feeling of pride in the Vikings’ program. Marina finished last in the Sunset League in his sophomore and junior seasons.

The road to the title game was bumpy. Lindsey and his teammates have weathered some tough times, but have discovered that playing with confidence is a great equalizer.

“In our first game against (Hacienda Heights) Wilson, we really didn’t think we could beat them,” Lindsey said. “We wanted to win, but we never really thought we could. But when we got a 4-0 lead in the fifth inning, you could see the attitude changing.

“After the game, we talked about just beating the No. 4 seed. If we got the same effort in the next game, we could win again. Ever since the first playoff game, the effort has been there and we’ve played with great confidence.”

That wasn’t always the case. Lindsey recalled the day he walked off Marina’s baseball field in frustration.

“Coach Renfrow chased me down and we got into an argument over my attitude,” he said. “I quit the team. Two days later, I realized I made a mistake. I went over to his house and we talked about changing my attitude . . . about changing the attitude of the team.

“Coach Renfrow is one of the best fundamental coaches I’ve ever played for. He’s always been positive. But there was always a losing attitude. Nobody cared enough to call a team meeting.

“Nobody cared enough to tell someone they weren’t doing the job. When this season began, Marc Newfield and I sat down and decided we were going to do whatever it takes to change that.”

The changes included a confrontation with Patterson in the parking lot after Patterson walked the first five batters and allowed five runs in the first inning in the loss to Edison.

“He’s throwing ball after ball and shaking me off,” Lindsey said. “I was ready to kill the guy. I thought we were going to go at it in the parking lot. Since that day, Sean’s curveball has been almost unhittable.”

Lindsey was the team’s second-leading hitter during the regular season, batting .432 and driving in 29 runs. Against Westlake, he started Marina’s winning rally with a single to left field in the sixth inning, but it was a play he made an inning earlier that sparked the Vikings.

Lindsey threw out Westlake’s Rick Wolters attempting to steal second in the fifth, and then pointed to Westlake’s boosters following the play. The ploy fired up his teammates.

“I wasn’t trying to show anybody up, I was only trying to take their fans out of the game,” he said. “I play with emotion because I like to win. Sometimes, I let my emotions take me out of a game, but that’s just the way I am.”