SAN DIEGO - The Point Loma baseball team completed an impressive four-game sweep of Eastern New Mexico by winning Saturday's doubleheader, 20-0 and 5-2.
 
PLNU has now won eight straight games to improve to 8-3 this season. The sweep leaves ENMU even on the year at 5-5.
 
Ryan Garcia had a huge series at the plate for Point Loma. He went 10-for-15 in the four-game set with two doubles, two home runs, six runs scored, 14 RBIs and a stolen base. The Sea Lions put up 52 runs in the series, and their 20 run differential in game 3 was the Sea Lions' largest in coach Schaefer's nine seasons at the helm.
 
Game 1
The Sea Lions had its most impressive win, in terms of an all-around game, in the coach Schaefer era as they scored 20 runs and shutout Eastern New Mexico 20-0.
 
Ryan Garcia was 2-for-3 with seven RBI. He hit a grand slam as part of the Sea Lions' six-run second inning. He added a two-run double and a sacrifice fly. The seven RBI tie him for the second in the Sea Lion record books for RBIs in a game.
 
"That at-bat Ryan Garcia had was one of the best at-bats I'd seen in a long time," Point Loma head coach Joe Schaefer explained. "He went to the plate with a plan, stayed committed to that plan and got what he was looking for in a two-strike count. It was such a good at-bat because he didn't let one pitch change his approach. He stuck with his plan and put a great swing on it."
 
AJ Derr was 4-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored. He set the tone for the game in the first at-bat as he battled for 11 pitches before doubling into the gap. Harrison Ramey added a career-high four RBI as he went 3-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Devin Carter scored four runs as was 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Joseph Keller also notched his fourth career home run with an opposite field shot in the first inning to help PLNU go up 3-0.
 
"The offense did an outstanding job up and down the lineup," added Schaefer.
 
The Sea Lions continued to build on that lead early in the game, posting all 20 runs by the end of the fifth. They scored three in the first, six in the second, four in the third before capping it with a seven-run fourth.
 
Trevor Abshire (1-0) and three relievers combined on the shutout. Abshire went the first six innings allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out seven.
 
"What got lost in game 1 was how good Trevor Abshire was," said Schaefer. "He could have gone another couple of innings. He was very sharp in rebounding from his last start."
 
Game 2
Kevin Lillicrop kept the great starting pitching going in game 4. He went six innings allowing five hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out five, and the Sea Lions grinded out a couple of late runs to come away with the 5-2 victory.
 
ENMU scored one in the fifth to tie the game at 2-2. PLNU answered back with three in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead. Ramey led off with a single and Derr sacrificed him to second. Matt Jervis then singled off the pitcher to put runners at first and third for Garcia. He smacked a ball right back up the middle but it caught ENMU's starter J'Daylin Jackson's glove and stayed right on the infield. However, it allowed Ramey to score the go-ahead run.
 
Devin Carter singled to put runners back at first and third. He then tried a steal with two out, and the Greyhounds' catcher threw the ball into centerfield allowing Jervis to score an insurance run. Carter would also score in the inning on an error by the shortstop.
 
"I liked that our team battled and competed," said Schaefer. "It was unlike the other three games in the series. We had to be able to do the little things to win that one. We got down sac bunts, stole some bases and tried to put the ball in play with two outs. That was a sign that we are making progress offensively. I know we put up big numbers earlier in the series but this last game shows our growth offensively."
 
Coleman Huntley III then entered the game and pitched a perfect seventh inning with one strike out for his fourth save of the season.
 
The Greyhounds' starter Jackson kept the Sea Lions off-balanced in the early part of the game. He went 4.2 innings, allowing seven hits and five runs (three earned) with a walk and two strike outs.
 
"Their starter did a great job," said Schaefer. "He was the best pitcher we saw all weekend and he competed his butt off.
 
"Lillicrop did a great job out there for us as well," Schaefer continued. "He was down in the zone the majority of the game and executed his pitches well. He got ahead in the counts and he used his infield defense that played well all weekend."
 
Carter was the only Sea Lions to record a multi-hit game in the series finale. He was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a stolen base. Garcia extended his hitting streak to six games as he went 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI.
 
Next series
Point Loma will continue their non-conference homestand against Concordia (OR) next week. The teams will play a single nine-inning game on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday.
 
Coach Schaefer knows this is the time to not be complacent with success but use it as growth to get better as a team.
 
"We have to keep at it at practice," he said. "That is where the progress is being made. With their mid-week bullpen sessions and working on their approach at the plate. They are fine-tuning and getting better each day. We will keep them hungry and competing in practice."