Box Score A slugger has to have a short memory.

PLNU's left fielder Rashad Taylor went to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, three runners on and his team trailing 5-2. The junior was 0-for-4 at that point in Wednesday's non-conference tilt against Chapman. To make matters worse he flew out to end a bases-loaded threat earlier in the game.

In his fifth at-bat the junior who is in the cleanup spot, took a big cut and missed on the first offering from Panther reliever Christian Maietta. Taylor's second swing was just as hard. But this time he connected and sent the ball on a line over the right center field wall at Carroll B. Land Stadium to give the NAIA No. 2-ranked Sea Lions a 6-5 walk off win.

“I was a little hard on myself because of my earlier at bats,” said Taylor. “I wanted to be in that situation though. I'm glad it turned out on our side this time.”

The Sea Lions fell behind 2-0 before they had a chance to take their first swings as the NCAA DIII fourth-ranked Panthers scored twice in the top of the first. Chapman added a run in the top of the third to go up 3-0. PLNU finally pushed a run across in the bottom of the fourth when shortstop Tyler Kuehl came home on a double steal.

CU (3-1) plated their fourth run a half inning later. Sea Lion right fielder JJ Reading singled home third baseman Wes Kartch to cut the deficit in half in the sixth but the Panthers added another run in the top of the eighth.

The third Chapman pitcher of the day, Richard Matamoros, had gotten out of a jam in the seventh and cruised through the eighth. He gave up a single to center fielder Allen Boyer to start the ninth though. Second baseman Alex Cameron then coaxed a walk, forcing CU to go to the pen for the fourth time. PLNU's third batter of the frame, DH Steven Winnick, worked a walk to set the table for Taylor.

“I knew he [Maietta] wasn't going to throw me a fast ball,” Taylor later said. “It was a slider and he left it up and over the plate. I drove it hard the opposite way. I thought it was out when I hit it; I was hoping it was out.”

Out it was and out of the dugout came the Sea Lions who mobbed Taylor – who had never hit a walk-off homer at any level.

The grand slam made a winner out of Kenny Houser (1-0) who tossed two innings in relief. Winnick started and allowed four runs – three earned – in 4.1 innings. Davis Koenig kept PLNU in the game with 2.2 innings of stellar relief in which he surrendered just one hit and one walk.

“I think it's big,” Taylor said of the win. “Hopefully we can keep up the momentum into this weekend's games.”

The Sea Lions (5-0-1) hosts Dixie State for a twinbill this Friday starting at 11:00 am.