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SAN DIEGO – Point Loma Nazarene and NAIA fourth-ranked Azusa Pacific split a GSAC doubleheader at Carroll B. Land Stadium on Friday. The Sea Lions defeated the Cougars 6-5 in 13 innings thanks to a balk call in game one, with APU winning the nightcap 3-1.
The twinbill was the final home contests for Associate Head Coach Jack Northam, who is retiring following the 2012 season, and for senior pitcher Chris Gonzales.
PLNU now stands at 18-30, 10-20 in conference, and depending on what else happened today, the Sea Lions may officially be eliminated from postseason contention. The top six teams in the final GSAC standing qualify for the conference tournament. The conference champion Cougars are 39-9, 26-4 GSAC.
Tyler Nordgren blasted his first collegiate home run – a two-run shot – in the second inning to give the Sea Lions an early 2-0 lead in the opener. PLNU tacked on another run in the third when Bryan Burkhead singled home Clinton Harwick.
Point Loma starter Chris Gonzales kept the Cougars in check early, and in fact, did not allow a hit to the visitors until the top of the fifth. APU pushed a run across in the frame and did the same in the sixth and seventh innings to even the score at 3-3.
The Sea Lions reclaimed the lead with two in the seventh; one run coming via a Cougar error and another on a RBI single by Ricky Gingras.
Azusa Pacific came right back with two runs in the eighth to even the game at 5-5. Unfortunately for the Sea Lions, there were a couple of plays in the inning that probably should have been made but weren't.
Tied five-all is how game would remain through nine and into extra innings.
The Sea Lions finally broke the deadlock in the 13th. Gingras started off the frame with a hit by pitch. Pinch-runner Daniel Hernandez reached second on a hit by Trey Hunt and advanced to third on a wild pitch. With two outs, Cougar reliever Matt Winkler was called for a balk which allowed Hernandez to score the game winner on the rarely called walk-off.
Gonzales pitched seven strong innings but was not involved in the decision. In his final PLNU appearance the senior allowed three runs on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts.
Garrett Levsen gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning of relief of Gonzales with Garrett Gooding (2-1) earning the win with 5.1 shutout innings of work. The freshman southpaw fanned five and gave up just four hits.
Azusa Pacific went ahead 3-0 in the nightcap, plating runs in the first, third and fourth frames. The Sea Lions got one digit closer in the fifth when Trey Hunt scored from third on a Cougar throwing error.
Suffering the loss, though he pitched well in his first start was Josh Dexheimer (2-3). The Sea Lion lefty went the distance, yielding three runs on nine hits.
Getting the win for APU was Jacob Cage who improved to 7-1. Alan Garcia picked up his 14th save with an inning on the hill.
The Sea Lions travel up to Azusa for two against the Cougars on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
In between games the Sea Lions recognized senior Chris Gonzales and honored retiring Associate Head Coach Jack Northam.
Gonzales came to PLNU as a junior from Fresno City College. In his two seasons with the Sea Lions he has made 33 appearances with nine starts. Chris has pitched 94 innings with a 3.21 Earned Run Average, a 5-6 overall record and seven saves. Chris was 4-3 as a junior and posted a team-best 2.73 ERA and 4 saves. A few highlights include a complete-game shutout against Biola and 8.2 innings of relief in the GSAC tournament where he allowed just one earned run. Chris has three saves this season and did not allow a run in eight of his 13 appearances.
Another Sea Lion who suited up for his final home game today was Associate Head Coach Jack Northam. Coach Northam has been an important member of the Point Loma Nazarene baseball family since the early 1980s. He served as an assistant to three head coaches, was the head coach at Point Loma for two seasons and the co-head coach for one year. Under his guidance, PLNU baseball compiled a 90-63 record, finished in the top-four of the conference each year and made three postseason appearances. Coach Northam has been the team's associate head coach since 2009. During that time, PLNU twice won at least 40 games, won the conference regular season and tournament titles, and on two occasions reached the NAIA World Series, finishing second in 2009 and third in 2010.
Coach Northam, a former Marine who has climbed Mt. Whitney 105 times, has shown dedication to PLNU baseball above and beyond the call of duty and he will be greatly missed!
