SAN DIEGO - The Point Loma baseball team took care of business on Monday, winning both games of a doubleheader against Hawaii Hilo, to take three of four in the series. PLNU won the opener 14-7 after fighting back from an early deficit and getting great bullpen work from Noah Huggins. In the nightcap, the pitching continued for the Sea Lions as Kellen Sheppard threw his third career shutout to lead the team to an 8-0 victory.
 
Point Loma is now 23-13 on the season and tied with Concordia for fourth in the PacWest standings with a 15-9 record. The losses drop Hawaii Hilo to 8-20 on the season and to 8-18 in the PacWest.
 
Game 1
This was one of the most bizarre games seen at Carroll B. Land Stadium in recent memory. Hawaii Hilo took a 6-3 lead after the top of the second, but had only one hit on the board. PLNU's starter Eric Pierce left the game without allowing a hit but Hawaii Hilo was able to take advantage of his seven walks to build its lead. Hilo's lone hit in the first two innings was a bases clearing double in the second.
 
Coach Joe Schaefer recognized his starter was struggling and turned to his bullpen early. Huggins (1-1) allowed the double to clear the bases but settled down after that and gave the Sea Lions 6.2 innings of two-run baseball. He allowed just four hits, two runs and a walk while striking out a career-high eight batters. His effort allowed the Sea Lions to mount a comeback, and outscore UHH 11-1 after the second inning.
 
"I don't know that we have found Noah's role, and I am not sure that I want that to be his role, but he is doing a very good job (as the long reliever)," said Point Loma head coach Joe Schaefer. "We need guys that can throw strikes out of the bullpen and he has been one of our most consistent guys with that over the past few weeks. He once again saved us and gave us a chance to win the game."
 
PLNU scored two in the third, one in the fourth and two more in the fifth to retake the lead at 8-6. The Sea Lions did not stop there and continued to add to their lead with two more in the seventh and four more in the eighth.
 
Tyler Flores was 2-for-3 with a double, three RBI, three runs scored and three stolen bases out of the leadoff spot. Colby Kaneshiro collected three hits and was 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. Harrison Ramey knocked in three runs and Wyatt Champlin reached base in four of his five plate appearances. Micah Pries had two stolen bases, two RBI and two runs scored to go with his 2-for-5 performance at the plate.
 
"That is the team we want to be offensively," said Schaefer. "We haven't always been that team because we have a lot of guys in the lineup that can leave the yard, but you can't rely on just that. But we don't want to be that team. We want to be the team that is consistently putting pressure on the other team by scoring every inning and extending leads throughout the game."
 
Jacob Grijalva had two hits for Hawaii Hilo. He was the only Vulcan to record a multi-hit game as PLNU outhit UHH 11-5.
 
Game 2
Kellen Sheppard tossed his best game of the season, shutting out Hawaii Hilo over seven innings, while striking out five to lead the Sea Lions to an 8-0 win in the series finale.
 
Sheppard (6-3) needed just 72 pitches to complete his seven innings. He retired 11 straight batters during a stretch and no Vulcan ever reached third base. All four hits he allowed were singles. This was also Sheppard's 23rd career victory. It moved him into a tie with Jeff Johnson and Tyler Cameron for third in school history.
 
"(Sheppard) was extremely efficient," said Schaefer. "He attacked every hitter and was ahead in every count. He wasn't afraid of contact and this was one of the best outings he's had all year."
 
Sheppard helped his own cause at the plate as he launched a two-run homer in the first inning, which proved to be the winning run. He would finish the game 2-for-3 with that home run, two RBI and two runs scored. He is now up to sixth in the PacWest with a .382 batting average.
 
PLNU added two runs in the third on a two-run single by Micah Pries and four more in the fifth on RBI-hits by Harrison Ramey and Mike Gordner, and a sacrifice fly from Matt Jervis. Ramey and Pries both matched Sheppard in the game with two RBI apiece.
 
Behind Sheppard, the Sea Lions played excellent defense, especially in the infield where the Sea Lions did not make an error on Monday.
 
"When we play good defense we usually win," explained Schaefer. "It sounds silly, but when you can execute pitches and play good defense you are going to win a majority of the time. That is our MO, and what we try to do every game."
 
"We need to play like we did today the rest of the way," Schaefer explained. "Regardless of who we are playing, we have to play like we did today if we want to have a shot at making the postseason. If we can do what we did today offensively, while playing good defense and if we can just get good pitching from the guys down the stretch I think we'll have a shot at the postseason.
 
Next games
The first step to that postseason test will come next weekend when the Sea Lions welcome in co-PacWest leaders, Azusa Pacific, for a four-game series starting on Friday, Apr. 21. The series will conclude with another doubleheader on Saturday. The Senior Day celebration will happen between games on Saturday.