[Live stats] [Live video]

WHAT'S HAPPENING:
The Point Loma baseball team will close out the 2013 regular season with a unique four-game series with California Baptist starting Thursday, May 2. To accommodate the graduation weekend at PLNU, the teams will play a single, nine-inning games at Point Loma on Thursday and Friday starting at 3:00 p.m. The series will then shift to Riverside, Calif., on Monday where the teams will play a doubleheader starting at Noon.  

FOLLOW ALONG:
The games this week will be available for fans to track online. Both games at PLNU can be accessed via live stats at http://www.sidearmstats.com/pointloma/baseball/scoreboard.aspx and by live video at http://www.americaonesports.com/partner_members.asp?id=138. The doubleheader at CBU can be tracked on live stats at http://www.cbulancers.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml.

A LOOK AT THE SEA LIONS:
The Sea Lions will head into the final week of the regular season at 25-21 on the season. PLNU has won eight straight conference games and sits third place in the PacWest with a 21-11 record.

Senior Tyler Garkow leads a PLNU staff that ranks fourth in the PacWest with a 3.91 ERA. Garkow is third in the league with seven wins and a 2.36 ERA. He is also third in innings pitched (84.0) and fifth in strikeouts (59). Fellow senior pitcher Justin Lawrence is also amongst the PacWest leaders in strikeouts with 67 (t-second). He also ranks fourth in the league with a .226 opponent batting average. The second half resurgence by PLNU, in which it has won 17 of its last 22 PacWest contest, can be credited to the quality of work by the backend of its bullpen. Brett Carlile has a 2.43 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 29.1 innings pitched. Garret Levsen is tied for the PacWest lead with nine saves on the season. He has a 2.01 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 22.1 innings this season.

Seniors Tyler Nordgren and Bryan Burkhead has come together to form a quality middle of the order for Point Loma. Burkhead leads the team with seven home runs, 22 RBI, 31 runs scored and 66 total bases. He is hitting .275 on the season with a .376 on base percentage. Nordgren leads the team with a .344 batting average and a .450 on base mark. He also has nine doubles and 16 RBI for the year. Mike Marcoux has been a spark atop the batting order for PLNU with a team-leading 13 steals and 11 doubles. He is hitting .297 on the year and is tied with Trey Hunt with 26 runs scored. Hunt is second on the team with a .326 batting average and 26 runs scored. Andy Littlefield is also hitting over .300 (.305).

SCOUTING CAL BAPTIST:
The Lancers will come into the series two games up on PLNU and in second place in the PacWest standings at 23-9 (30-16 overall). CBU has split its last three series, each of them on the road, to Holy Names, Dixie State and Grand Canyon. Luke and Zach Esquerra are tied for the team-lead with a .389 batting average, rank 1-2 in the PacWest in home run and the Lancers in nearly every category. Zach is leading the league with 16 long balls and is third in RBI with 43. He is slugging .790 on the season, with 49 runs scored and nine stolen bases. Luke paces the team with a .483 on base percentage and 23 walks. Jon Bengard leads the PacWest with nine wins and 91 strikeouts. He has a 2.41 ERA and has allowed just 61 hits in 86 innings of work.  

SEA LIONS QUALIFY FOR REGIONAL:
PLNU has earned the right to play in the 2013 National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) West Regional playoffs. With their sweep at Holy Names the Sea Lions guaranteed they would finish at .500 on the season, and thus earn the right to play in the NCCAA West Region. The site and number of teams that will participate in the regional are still yet to be determined. Only PLNU and CBU are guaranteed to participate, while Arizona Christian and Fresno Pacific NCCAA postseason hopes will be determined on the field this weekend.