Introduction
It feels like 2018 is not just a new chapter, but a new book, in the history of Point Loma baseball. After graduating seven four-year seniors, including all-region selections Ryan Garcia and Kellen Sheppard, PLNU could have entered rebuilding mode, but coach Joe Schaefer took the aggressive approach, and reloaded the roster with talented freshmen and skilled newcomers to write the newest story in the Sea Lions' history books.
 
Preseason
Every member of the team has been grinding towards opening day since getting back in mid-September. The team has put in countless hours in the weight room, the batting cages or bullpen and on the field. This has offered a great opportunity for coach Schaefer and his staff to see the team coming together.
 
"They're starting to gel well together and the team is starting to get excited," said Schaefer. "We have a lot of new guys this year but everyone has been getting along really well. They're coming together."
 
The Returners
Point Loma brings back two starting pitchers, four bullpen arms, its shortstop and entire outfield among its 15 returning letterwinners. Coach Schaefer has relied on this group not just for their experience on the field, but to help bring the newcomers into the program.
 
"Our outfield group is our best position group in terms of experience and maturity," explained coach Schaefer. "Getting Wyatt, Tyler, and Micah all back with all experience they have and with their leadership in that group has been really good. That group has been a positive for us. Getting your shortstop back is always a big deal. Colby, two-time all-conference selection is back in the infield as well. We have half of our starting pitchers back, and both guys are seniors. We're getting a lot of good pieces back."
 
The Newcomers
With the losses of seven four-year letterwinners like Garcia, Sheppard and more, coach Schaefer had to get help in quickly for the Sea Lions if they wanted to maintain three straight seasons of winning at least 32 games. Instead of going strictly to the freshmen route, as he did with the recently graduated class, Schaefer brought in a mixture of junior college transfers and freshmen. This should help the Sea Lions not only be competitive again this season, but to help them build a foundation for the future.
 
"We're excited about the new guys we brought in," said coach Schaefer. "We fill in some of those open spots with some very, very athletic guys that I think can contribute in a positive way right away. We brought in the transfer infielder from El Camino, Darian Sylvester, who's kind of a spark plug for us. He's a super athletic kid that will hit leadoff and play second base for us every day. He is just a very, very strong kid that runs really well, has great savvy, understands the game. So having a true prototypical leadoff guy who can play up the middle with Rios is a big piece. We had another transfer, Casey Dunlap, versatile infielder from Phoenix College. We brought in some younger guys as well. Freshman Nico Anderson is another super athletic kid and can play multiple positions. He's very offensive, athletic and runs really well. He's somebody we're really excited about. He'll probably get the majority of his time at third base, but is capable of playing short outfield, first base, and just about anywhere. We're very young behind the plate. Losing (Mike Gordner), who did the bulk of the work for the last two years hurt, but we like the younger guys back there. We think there's going to be some bumps along the road, having some younger guys behind the plate, but they're talented and they understand the game. Byron Smith, Jarret Lindsay and Ryan Park (returning sophomore) will all probably contribute. They'll all get to share the duty, and hopefully they can all get better as the year goes on."
 
The Offense
Despite the losses of a few all-region bats, there will be many of the same faces in the lineup for PLNU. Kaneshiro, Flores, Pries and Champlin are all expected to be back in the middle part of the lineup. Kaneshiro is a two-time All-PacWest selection. He hit .323 last season with a .396 on-base percentage. Champlin was also an All-PacWest selection last year after he blasted eight home runs in 111 at-bats while hitting .333. Flores knocked in 32 runs and walked 37 times to post a .421 on-base average. Pries hit .279 with six home runs and 28 RBI as a freshman. Rios came on strong late in the year and finished with a .297 batting average. The rest of the lineup will be filled in by coach Schaefer's new recruits.
 
"We plan to see Darian hit leadoff," noted Schaefer. "He's a table setter. He's got some power and he's also a stolen base threat. In the two-hole, it's kind of up in the air. We got a couple of guys that we're comfortable with. It could be Wyatt Champlin or it could be transfer John Balliet (OF/DH) from Orange Coast College. He'll definitely be an offensive threat for us. We're planning on movie Micah Pries to the three-hole and Tyler Flores will probably hit clean up. Fifth, sixth or seventh could be any combination of either Wyatt, John Balliet, Colby Kaneshiro. Nico Anderson will probably be in there somewhere as well. Adam Rios and whatever catcher is starting the game, kind of round out the lineup for us.
 
"We're a completely different team offensively," Schaefer explained. "We have some guys that can leave the yard in the middle of the lineup for sure but that's not really our game this year. We have some pretty good team speed. We've shown a pretty good knack for base running up to this point so I think we'll be exciting in a little bit different way. We should be able to take extra bases, steal some bases and do some of the little things at a high level."
 
The Defense
In the field, PLNU should be extremely strong up the middle with Rios, Sylvester on the infield and Pries in center. Flores and Champlin have both shown good range and strong arms in the outfield. Defense is even more critical for the Sea Lions as many of their games in Carroll B. Land Stadium 'America's Most Scenic Ballpark' are decided by two runs or fewer.
 
"We're pretty strong defensively," said Schaefer. "I think we got one of the more athletic outfields for sure. Rios, I think, is the best defensive shortstop in the region. He does an outstanding job. Darian is a shortstop that we moved to second base and he has been great for us there. Catching and third base were kind of new spots for us. They're talented, it's just a matter of learning the pace of play at this level and being able to adjust and grow as quickly as possible. Defense has been a ginormous emphasis for our team this year, so I expect to see it translate pretty well into the season."
 
The Pitching
Point Loma returned Stephen Young and Trevor Abshire to their rotation. Young was an All-PacWest and All-West Region selection in 2017 after leading the conference with a 2.05 earned run average. He was also 10th in the country with 5.72 hits allowed per nine innings. Abshire (6-3) will return to the rotation for his third straight season as he looks to grab two more wins and climb onto the Sea Lions all-time wins list. The Sea Lions also brought back Cole Millerd, Alex Strizak, Patrick McMullen and Ryan Casper in the bullpen, and coach Schaefer added a slew of other talented arms to complete the pitching staff.
 
"I think pitching is our strength more than anything this year," Schaefer explained. "It's a different type of pitching staff then we've had in the past. We know what we get in Trevor and Stephen coming back, having success at this level and in this conference in the past. We have two freshman arms that we're really excited about, Garrett Irvin and Robby Ortiz, who will probably round out the starting rotation for us. We also have depth on the mound out of the bullpen, which is obviously much needed at this level. It is not something we've had the luxury of having in the past. It's a very, very talented group with a lot of good arms. We have guys like John Balliet, Tommy Paul, Wyatt Shackleford with really good stuff and they all fit in at the back-end of the pen really well. We have guys that can match up in the middle of the game if we need to and we have guys that can throw long out of the pen. We have a lot of go-to options. Our sixth guy is just as good as our 12th at this point. I have a lot of confidence in that group, and definitely excited to see how they perform."
 
The Schedule
There is no easy gams on the schedule in 2018 for Point Loma. Every game is against an NCAA Division II opponent, and all but the opening series is against other NCAA West Region teams.
 
"We open up with North Alabama, who's a very good team from a different part of the country. That was kind of a last minute addition because we had a late cancellation this fall, but luckily we were able to get UNA to come out here. They're excited about it and we're excited about it too, because they are a very good team. We're excited to see where we're at right away. We then play 10 straight home games, so we get our first 13 at home to start the year. It wasn't necessarily by design, but it's nice getting to be at home to start out the year and get comfortable before making that first road trip to Hawaii. It will always be competitive, playing on the road at California Baptist and Azusa Pacific. They are good teams and tough ballparks to play in. We get them a little later in the year so hopefully we'll have things gelling at that."
 
Team Goals
Coach Schaefer knows the talent level and capabilities of this team. He built a schedule to allow his team the best opportunity to earn its first postseason berth since 2015. But in addition to the hope of earning a trip to the NCAA West Regional, coach Schaefer has also outlined other goals for his team.
 
"We want to compete for a PacWest championship every single year," said Scahefer. "I definitely believe we are talented enough to compete for a championship, so that's definitely an immediate goal for us. Beyond that, I think we're a tournament team without any question, and that's a very, very tough thing to do in the West Region. We definitely believe that we can be in the mix to compete for a tournament bid.
 
"For us, it's just a matter of playing good baseball all season long. There's not that much else to it. We don't have any goals in terms of win totals or anything like that. It's just a matter of competing on a daily basis, trying to win every series, and in the end hopefully see our name on the board when the tournament starts."
 
Keys to the Season
As coach Schaefer said, the team will be taking each pitch and each game one at a time. He believes in a process to success, and not in a magic formula, and demands the same from his team. Here are some of coach Schaefer's keys to the Sea Lions' 2018 season.
 
"You got to have talent first and foremost, and I think we check that box," Schaefer said. "You also have to be fairly healthy. Hopefully you can make it through the whole season without losing anybody of significance or to serious injuries. So far we're healthy which is encouraging and hopefully we can make it through the year in one piece. Also, in order to make the tournament, you got to play good baseball year long. You also got to have things go your way and those are uncontrollable. For us, you can only control the things we can control like playing hard on a daily basis. And when you can compete for nine innings on every single day and you give the effort required, then usually some of those things end up falling your way."
 
The Conclusion
The best part of a new book is you are able to write your own story and build a path others can reflect on. The pages of the Sea Lions' 2018 story are currently blank, but are about to start being filled in with the first pitch in the season opener. Coach Schafer believes in this team and that it capable of creating that story everyone wearing the Green & Gold can be proud to tell.