SAN DIEGO – Micah Pries clubbed two home runs and drove in seven runs as the Point Loma baseball team held on for an 11-7 win over Academy of Art in the second game of the series on Friday, Apr. 13.
 
Pries' first homer came just three batters into the game when he launched a ball over the right field wall for quick 3-0 lead. His next homer was also a three-run shot, as he capped off a five-run fourth inning and extended the Sea Lions' lead to 8-0. Pries was not the only PLNU student-athlete doing damage as the top three batters in the order (John Balliet, Colby Kaneshiro and Pries) combined to go 5-for-11 with three walks, eight runs scored and nine runs scored.
 
Point Loma starter Trevor Abshire (4-3) was cruising for the first five innings as he did not allow a hit, and the only runner to reach base came on an error. However, ART U would use the momentum of a great defensive play in the bottom of the fifth to put up a five-spot of its own in the sixth inning and cut the Sea Lions' lead to 8-5. The score would remain that way until the eighth when ART U put up two more and had the chance to tie the game before Adam Rios made the defensive play of the game.
 
With two outs and runners at first and second, Angel Mora singled up the middle. Rios made a dive and stopped the ball from getting through the infield. The ART U runner took off on the hit, thinking it would get through to the outfield, but Rios gathered himself and threw to the catcher Jarrett Lindsay. The throw was a little to the first base side of the bag, but Lindsay corralled it and sprawled back towards the approaching runner to tag him out right before he slid into home.
 
In the bottom of the eighth, PLNU put up three more runs thanks to two Urban Knight errors to extend its lead up to 11-7, and Nicholas Cornelius pitched a scoreless ninth to preserve the win.
 
Team Records
Point Loma (25-14, 21-9 PacWest), Academy of Art (18-17, 13-13 PacWest)
 
PacWest Implications
With the victory, Point Loma pulls to within three games of first-place Azusa Pacific (29-3, 19-3 PacWest) in the conference standings. The loss drops ART U into sixth place in the standings at 13-13 in the PacWest.  
 
Schaefer speaks
On taking the early lead: "We preach all day, every day that we want to be the first team on the board and play with a lead. We had good at-bats to lead off the game and Micah gave us a big swing to give us a three-run lead. That was huge. That is our goal. Be the first team on the board, find a way to create big innings and put the crooked numbers on the board. I was proud of the offense. All around the offense took advantage of free baserunners and they got the big swings when we needed them."
 
On Micah Pries: "The guy's tools are off the chart. When he came in as a freshman it was easy to get excited about a big strong kid that hits left-handed. He is progressing exactly how we hoped he would. He is swinging at better pitches, he is taking his walks and that discipline is getting him better pitches, and he isn't missing them."
 
On ART U's comeback: "Our middle relief was just not great today. We have been searching for it all year long. Our starting pitching has been doing a pretty good job all year, and the backend guys have done a decent job, but when we have to take a starter out early we just haven't been coming out of the bullpen and pounding the zone. We have to find the right guy in the right role so we can take care of those innings and get it to our ninth inning guy."
 
On extending the lead in the eighth: "A four-run deficit in the ninth is so much different than a one-run deficit. Finding a way to answer back after they got two runs in the eighth was huge. That play by Rios on defense to throw the runner out at the plate gave us the momentum going into the bottom half of the inning. We used that and had good, competitive at-bats, found ways on base and guys came up with the big hits. It was everything we had been trying to do all year, and we got it done."
 
News and Notes
> Point Loma has now won five straight games over ART U and eight straight games overall
> PLNU drew more walks (10) than it had hits in the game (eight)
> Pries' seven RBI were the most for a Sea Lion in a single game this season
> Pries is just the second Sea Lion this season to record a multi-homer game (Rios)
> Abshire saw his streak of 13 consecutive scoreless innings end in the sixth
> Abshire is now tied with Kerry Morris for seventh in PLNU history with 21 career victories
> Abshire also moved into 10th on the all-time strikeout list with 201 in his career
 
Up Next
The teams will close out their series with a doubleheader on Saturday, Apr. 14. First pitch is slated for Noon, and it will also be PLNU Alumni Day at the ballpark.