Box Score

SAN DIEGO - Lucas DiCiccio delivered the big hit the Sea Lions had been looking for against San Diego Christian all year as he singled in two runs in the eighth inning to give Point Loma its first lead and send PLNU to a 3-2 victory over the Hawks in their regularly schedule game on Tuesday, Apr. 1. Prior to that game San Diego Christian defeated PLNU in 15 innings, 6-5, in a game that was suspended due to darkness from Feb. 11.
 
With the split today PLNU moves to 18-15 on the season while SDCC goes to 28-12.
 
Regularly schedule game
Not much was going for the Sea Lions' bat early as they had just one hit through the first six innings, but they turned it on offensively to score one in the seventh and two more in the eighth on an RBI-single by Lucas DiCiccio to edge SDCC, 3-2.
 
With PLNU trailing 2-1 in the eighth inning DiCiccio stepped to the plate with two runners in scoring position, but two out, and came through with a perfectly placed ball in between the center and right fielder to bring in Matt Jervis and Mike Marcoux who had each singled to the opposite field earlier in the inning.
 
While their offense was coming around the PLNU pitching staff kept the Sea Lions in the game and gave them a chance to win it late. Mickey Dunleavy started the game and when the first seven innings allowing six hits and two runs while striking out six and walking two. He then gave way to Noah Huggins who picked up the win by putting up a 'zero' in the eighth inning. Kevin Lillicrop pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts for his second save of the season.
 
"I put this game on the pitching staff; this win goes to them," said PLNU head coach Joe Schaefer. "We were able to get that big hit late but the win goes to the pitching staff because they were lights out tonight. Dunleavy, Huggins and Lillicrop all attacked the zone, stayed low in the zone and used their home field to their advantage.
 
"This team definitely has heart and some fight in them," explained Schaefer about the team's late comeback. "I don't like that we can look so bad offensively for the first six innings of the game but we figure out ways to get on base. We just have to be better at scoring more runs. We have had guys on base all season long; it is just a matter of capitalizing on those opportunities."
 
DiCiccio reached base in three of his four plate appearances as he went 1-for-2 with a run scored, two RBI and two walks.
 
"Lucas has been working hard all year and with every game and each opportunity it seems like he is rounding back into form," Schaefer explained. "I was happy to see him come through with the big knock tonight."
 
Clinton Harwick had the team's other RBI as he singled in DiCiccio in the seventh. Mike Marcoux and Ryan Garcia each had two hits for PLNU which outhit SDCC 8-7 despite trailing in the hit department early 6-1.
 
Suspended game
The game picked back up in the bottom of the 13th tied at 5-5 but it would not be until the 15th inning that the tie was finally broken as Jacob Rogers made an aggressive base running play for the game-winning run.
 
Rogers got everything started with two outs as he singled to reach base. Peter Hoyt then singled into the right-center field gap allowing Rogers to aggressively head over to third base. However, Trey Hunt's throw from center field was cut off and the Sea Lions had Hoyt caught in a rundown between first and second. While Hoyt was running back and forth avoiding Sea Lion defenders with the ball, Rogers took off for home. PLNU tried to cut him down at the plate but the throw was low and Rogers snuck in for the game-winning run.
 
Next games
Point Loma will be off for 10 days now. They will resume their season on Apr. 11 at Fresno Pacific as they take on the Sunbirds in a four-game series.