SEASIDE, Calif. - Miguel Cazares made his first career hit in a Sea Lions uniform a big one, as the shortstop doubled down the first base with two outs in the fifth inning to drive in Travis Takata for the only run of the game, in a 1-0 victory over No. 21 Cal State Monterey Bay.
 
Takata opened the inning with a double and went to third base on a sacrifice on the next pitch by Brett O'Toole. Michael Palos was unable to get the runner in from third, but Cazares picked him up with his run-scoring double down the first base line.
 
That run backed a solid pitching performance by all four Sea Lions that entered the game on the mound. Noll battled through the first 4.1 innings. He allowed four hits and three walks, while striking out five, but did not give up a run. Nathan Garkow (2-0) pitched around some trouble in the fifth and went 2.2 innings to earn his second win of the season. Nicholas Cornelius pitched a perfect eighth, striking out two. Balliet closed out the game in the ninth to post his second save.
 
Takata went 4-for-4 with a double and a run scored. The four hits matched his career-high. Otto Kemp added two more hits for the Sea Lions. Kyle Dean and Brian Morley had two hits apiece for the Otters.

Team Records
Point Loma (3-1, 0-0 PacWest), Cal State Monterey Bay (1-2, 0-0 CCAA)
 
Words from coach James
On the pitching: "They did an awesome job today. They threw a bunch of strikes and were constantly on the attack against a good offense. Noll battled through, even without his best stuff, which was huge. Garkow did a great job bridging the gap. He was fearless out there. Cornelius has been an early surprise and was very good out of the pen. Balliet stepped up where he left off last season again as a real quality arm."
 
On the run-scoring inning: "There was not a lot of opportunities out there, especially in the first game of a series against a really good team. You have to maximize every opportunity you get. Miguel came up huge. He was battling and put the ball in play, and when you do that, good things can happen. I am proud of him for that. He also played a really good shortstop today. He was humungous for us in this game."
 
On Cal State Monterey Bay: "They are just a really well-coached team. Coach Walt White does an excellent job up there. They never give up, no matter the score. They threw a lot of strikes too."
 
On Travis Takata's 4-for-4 day: "Whenever you can go 4-for-4 that is an impressive day. He is seeing the ball really well right now, and we hope he continues to attack it in the zone."
 
On the Sea Lions' defense: "We have shown ourselves to be a pretty good defensive team early in this season. Miggy is leading us at shortstop, and our outfielders, Brett O'Toole, and John Balliet, both made some plays today to minimize damage. Otto Kemp at third base has also been playing excellent there defensively. He is looking like a veteran out there. We are just playing really good defense right now.
 
News and Notes
> With his first-inning single, Pries has now reached base safely in 26 straight games
> Garkow has two wins of the Sea Lions' three wins
> Balliet moves into sole possession of ninth place on the Sea Lions' all-time saves list
> This was Justin James' first road win as a head coach
> PLNU earned its first NCAA regional win last season over Cal State Monterey Bay
 
Up Next
The Sea Lions and Otters will continue their series with a doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 8 starting at 10 a.m. The teams will close out their series on Saturday with a single, nine-inning game starting at 11 a.m.