AZUSA, Calif. - As was the mantra with Point Loma all season, every student-athlete believed in and fought for this team until the final out in the final inning, but that does not make the end of the 2018 season any easier.
 
Today, No. 2 seed Azusa Pacific jumped out to a big lead early in the NCAA West Regional, before Point Loma battled back to cut it to one (8-7) in the sixth. However, the Cougars were able to get the pitching they had been searching for down the stretch to eliminate the Sea Lions from the regional with a 10-7 victory.
 
APU took advantage of some mistakes by Point Loma in the third inning to put up a six-spot and take a lead 7-1. The Sea Lions battled back with a four-run fifth inning and cut the lead to 8-7 in the sixth on two unearned runs.
 
Momentum looked like it had swung to the Sea Lions, especially after the sixth inning when Ernesto Romero came in and worked out of a one-out, bases loaded jam. PLNU proceeded put two runners on in the seventh but failed to score after APU called in Brandon Dixon out of the bullpen, and that left the door open for the Cougars.
 
Just like in the third inning, APU capitalized on a PLNU error to begin the inning and it put up another crooked number on the scoreboard. The Cougars scored two runs in the inning without the benefit of a hit. They received four walks, including two with the bases loaded to extend their lead back to three runs (10-7).
 
After going quietly in the eighth, Point Loma tried to rally in the ninth. Colby Kaneshiro reached on an error to lead off the inning. Then after Micah Pries was cut down at first base on a great play by the second baseman on a bad bounce, Tyler Flores came to the plate and launched a ball into right field. It looked as if the ball was going to be a hit off the wall, but APU's right fielder Sean Aspinall climbed the 12-foot outfield wall and snagged Flores' ball at the height of his jump for the second out of the inning. Dixon would retire the next batter to close out the game and earn his first save of the season. He went 2.1 innings allowing just one walk and no runs while striking out two.
 
The Sea Lions scored their seven runs on just six hits. Adam Rios was the only Sea Lion to record a multi-hit game as he had a single and a triple to go along with two runs scored. Osvaldo Tovalin paced the APU offense. He went 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored.
 
Dillon Miyashiro (9-1) earned the victory. He went 6.2 innings allowing six hits and seven runs (five earned), while walking three and striking out five. He is now tied for the PacWest lead in wins. Stephen Young (7-4) took the loss.

Team Records
Point Loma (34-18), Azusa Pacific (41-10)

Words from coach Schaefer
On the pitching: "Tournament play is tricky. Your backs are against the wall in virtually every game, so it's not the same as trying to win a series. You might not extend guys as long or give them the chance to work out of a jam. You have to get outs right 'now' so it changes the way you use your pitching staff. We utilized virtually every guy we had over the last three days, just unfortunately it wasn't enough."
 
On the 2018 season: "Just to be in a regional is a big accomplishment. The West Regional has so much depth, and only one team gets to come out of this gauntlet of a tournament, so to be one of the top 6 teams in this region is accomplishment in itself."
 
On the Sea Lions team: "At the beginning of the year we knew we had talent and it took a little while for this team to come together, but once we did I felt we were one of the best teams in the nation. I am proud of them because six weeks ago we never thought we'd be in this position. We started to put things together, play good baseball and made the regional. I am proud of this group."
 
On the regional: "We knew there would be some good offenses in this tournament, but even more so that there would be some good pitching. However, the offense dominated this tournament. Some might be ballpark related, but a lot of it is the teams. The depth in this region is outstanding and at this point in the year some of these teams are on a roll. They come into the tournament playing good baseball, and the offenses were able to take over and defeat some good arms."
 
On Azusa Pacific: "They play really good in this ballpark and they punished us for making mistakes."

News and Notes
> The 34 wins are the most for Point Loma since 2010
> Ernesto Romero and Nicholas Cornelius were the best two relievers out of the pen for PLNU in the tournament. The lefty-righty combo combined to go 3.2 innings, allowing just one unearned run and no hits, while striking out seven
> APU outhomered PLNU in the game 3-0, and 15-8 in the five games the teams played at the APU Baseball Complex
> Tyler Flores finished one RBI short of matching the Point Loma single-season record
> The 67 home runs hit by PLNU this season are the second-most in school history (74 in 2009)
> Six Sea Lions finished the year with a .300 or better average (Pries, Collazo, Flores, Kaneshiro, Takata, Balliet) and Rios was just off the mark with a .295 average