CARSON, Calif. -
Adam Rios went 5-for-5 and led an outstanding defensive effort as the Point Loma baseball team defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills, 10-4, to earn
Joe Schaefer his 300th win as the head coach of the Sea Lions.
With the win, PLNU (25-16) sweeps the four-game, non-conference, season series from CSUDH (14-27), and remains in the hunt for an NCAA West Regional berth. (The first regional poll will be released on Wednesday, Apr. 26).
Point Loma built a four-run lead in the top of the first without the benefit of a hit as the Toros hit a batter, walked three and made a three-run error. The Sea Lions would tack on two more in the third on a sacrifice fly by
Colby Kaneshiro and a two-out, RBI-single by Rios.
The 6-0 lead back four PLNU pitchers in the contest.
Kevin Lillicrop went the first three innings, allowing one hit and one run. He gave way to Casper who pitched two strong innings before running into trouble in the sixth. The Toros hit a two-run homer and had two more runners on, but
Noah Huggins came out of the pen to strike out the batter and end the threat. He pitched 2.1 total innings, allowing three hits and one run, before giving way to
John Thomas for a perfect ninth inning. Casper (1-0) earned the victory.
Rios added two RBI and a run scored to his five hits (all singles). This was the Sea Lions' first five-hit game of the season.
Micah Pries was 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a hit-by-pitch for PLNU.
Harrison Ramey was 2-for-4 for his 10th multi-hit game.
Joshua Gogue (0-4) took the loss after he was pulled following the first and the Toros never tied the game. John Soteropulos was 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI to lead CSUDH.
Coach
Joe Schaefer took over as the leader of the Sea Lions' baseball program in 2009. Since then he has led PLNU to two of its four 40-win seasons in school history, and to both the NCAA West Regional and the NAIA World Series. He is 300-198-1 in his nine-year career.
Point Loma will continue its 2017 PacWest Conference schedule in the Bay Area this weekend. PLNU will face Academy of Art in a four-game series. The teams will play a doubleheader on both Friday and Saturday starting at Noon.
