[PLNU game notes] 

NCAA West Regional
The Point Loma baseball team earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA West Regional as an at-large seed from the PacWest Conference. Point Loma went 30-19 in the regular season, and 18-13 in the PacWest Conference. The Sea Lions will open the regional against No. 6 seed Montana State Billings on Thursday, May 16 at 7 p.m., at UC San Diego. To learn more about the NCAA West Regional, click here.
 
New regional format
The regional has been modified this year, with super regionals added in to mirror the Division I tournament. As such, PLNU will play against just two teams this week, with the other portion of the West Regional taking place in Azusa at top seed Azusa Pacific. Both three-team, double-elimination sub-regionals run Thursday through Saturday, May 16-18. The two advancing teams will face off in the West Super Regional, May 24-25, at the venue of the highest remaining seed (provided that school has submitted a bid). Should Azusa Pacific advance past Saturday, it is assured of hosting that next round.
 
Tickets & parking
Tickets will be available to purchase at the game. Single-day ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for college students with identification, seniors 65 and older, and children aged three to 12. Children two and under are admitted free. Tickets are good for day-of-games only and will be available for purchase 60 minutes prior to the start of the first game each day. Parking will only be free on Saturday, May 18, with permits required for Thursday night and all day Friday.
 
Follow along
If you are unable to attend the NCAA West Regional, all games will be available for fans to follow for free on live stats and live video. Live video and stats can be access at http://ucsdtritons.tv/.  
 
NCAA WEST REGIONAL TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

A look at the Sea Lions
PLNU went 30-19 in the regular season and finished third in the PacWest at 18-13. However, the stat that made PLNU standout in the region was its stellar 12-6 record in non-conference Division II games. This included taking three of four against both the region's No. 1 team, Azusa Pacific, and at Cal State Monterey Bay. This is PLNU's second straight appearance in the NCAA West Regional, and its third in the past five seasons.
 
Zack Noll leads a PLNU pitching staff that ranked second in the PacWest with a 4.02 earned run average and paced the league with 8.4 strikeouts per 9 innings. Noll posted a 3.14 ERA to rank third in the league while holding opponents to a .244 batting average. The junior lefty also struck out a league-high 88 batters in 77.1 innings and tied for the PacWest-lead with nine wins. Nathan Garkow ranked sixth in the PacWest with a 3.38 ERA. He averaged 7.9 K/9 and was tied for fourth with six victories. No. 3 starter Stirling Strong ranked 13th in the league with a 3.89 ERA, and third with just 1.95 walks allowed per game. Fellow starter Jerry Quemada was sixth in the PacWest with 67 strikeouts, including leading the league with 24 strikeouts looking. Out of the bullpen, John Balliet, Steven Elliott, and Nicholas Cornelius have been the main weapons for coach Justin James and the Sea Lions. All three have at least three saves and ERAs under 3.00.
 
On offense, the Sea Lions are powered by Micah Pries, but they have been getting contributions throughout the lineup. Pries is pacing the squad in nearly all offensive categories. He is the team leader in hits (56), runs (35), home runs (18), RBI (46) and slugging percentage (.684). He is ranked seventh in the country with 18 home runs and is the eighth toughest person in the country to strikeout (1/19.3 at-bats). Michael Palos posted a 4-for-4 performance on Senior Day to raise his average to .319, and his team-leading on-base percentage to .417. Brett O'Toole is also hitting over .300 at a .306 clip. Travis Takata is leading the team with 13 doubles and is second on the team with 30 RBI. Justin Ledgerwood's eight home runs and 79 total bases have him second on the Sea Lion team. Miguel Cazares leads the team with six stolen bases.
 
A look at the Yellowjackets
Montana State Billings (33-18) earned its first-ever trip to the NCAA Baseball Regional after capturing the Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament title and the league's automatic bid. The Yellowjackets have won 11 straight games, and 15 of their last 16. This included sweeping through the GNAC Championships while outscoring their opponents 22-7.
 
Seven Yellowjackets are hitting over .300, with Andrew Schleusner right behind with a .299 batting average. First baseman Daniel Cipriano (.400, 17 HR, 51 RBI, 57 runs, .534 on-base%) was named the GNAC Newcomer and Player of the Year after leading the league in batting average, home runs, and on-base percentage. Cipriano was one of five Yellowjacket hitters to be named to the All-GNAC first team. He was joined by shortstop Wyatt Setian (.329, 12 HR, 45 RBI, 45 runs), designated hitter Andrew Schleusner (.299, 13 2B, 29 RBI), and outfielders Jalen Garcia (.362, 14 2B, 9 HR, 32 RBI, 42 runs, 12 SB) and Matt Dillon (.294, 15 HR, 41 RBI, 50 runs). As a team, MUSB over doubled its next closest GNAC opponent in home runs (82 to 37) and scored 49 more runs.
 
Pitcher Steen Fredrickson was MSU Billings' lone pitching representative on either All-PacWest team. Fredrickson led the GNAC in innings pitched (81.1) and strikeouts (88), while ranking second in ERA (3.54), opponent batting average (.223) and wins (seven). Fellow starter Jarrod Molnaa struck out over a batter an inning in his 71 innings of work, and he held opponents to a .246 batting average. Brooks Zimmer, Jared Winslow, and Sam Muskat each posted four or more saves to anchor a solid bullpen. As a staff, the Yellowjackets had a 5.47 ERA and paced the GNAC with 425 strikeouts and 19 saves.
 
A look at the Tritons
UC San Diego (35-12) earned the No. 2 seed as an at-large bid. The Tritons won the CCAA regular season title for the first time since 2012, but lost the first two games of the CCAA tournament, to earn the at-large bid. This is the Tritons 11th overall regional appearance and its sixth in eight seasons under coach Eric Newman. UC San Diego is serving as a host of Division II West Regional activity for the third time, but first since the 2015 renovation of Triton Ballpark.
 
Shay Whitcomb was named the CCAA Most Valuable Player after leading UCSD with a .335 batting average and 111 total bases. He had 23 doubles, eight home runs, and 36 RBI, to go along with 38 runs scored. Whitcomb also walked 27 times and struck out just 30. He is one of four Tritons that hit over .300 in the 2019 campaign. Blake Baumgartner was second on the team with a .323 average, and he tied for the team-lead with 11 home runs. He also paced the squad with 44 RBI and a .459 on-base percentage.
 
Brandon Weed was voted the CCAA Pitcher of the Year. He helped the Tritons lead the CCAA and rank sixth in NCAA Division II with a 3.17 team ERA. Their 1.28 team WHIP is also good for ninth in the country. Weed (9-1) posted a 1.95 ERA, allowing just 57 hits in 69.1 innings. Opponents hit just .219 off him, and he allowed only one home run. Fellow starter Preston Mott was fourth in the CCAA with a 2.80 ERA. He went 7-1 on the season and held opponents to a .221 batting average. Kyle Lucke has been the main arm out of the bullpen. He has a 2.08 ERA over 34.2 innings and has posted a 4-0 record with eight saves over 34.2 innings.
 
Other Sea Lion Notes
> Point Loma has won at least 30 games in all five seasons it has been in NCAA Division II (2015-19)
> Baseball joins men's basketball as the only PLNU teams to earn a regional at-large bid in back-to-back seasons
> This will be the first-ever meeting between PLNU and MSU Billings on the diamond
> UCSD leads the all-time series 46-39-1. The two teams met last year in the NCAA West Regional (UCSD won)
> John Balliet's 13 career saves have him in fifth place in the PLNU record books
> Micah Pries is now second in school history with 35 career home runs
> The 18 home runs for Pries this season are tied for third most in a single-season
> Pries is tied for ninth in school history with 196 career hits (record-256)
> PLNU won the first 10 starts of Noll's career
> Colby Kaneshiro moved into 10th in school history with 35 career doubles
 
NCAA Regional Schedule* [Bracket] (double elimination format)
Thursday, May 16
Game 1 – No. 6 Montana State Billings (33-18) vs. No. 3 Point Loma (30-19) at 7 p.m.
 
Friday, May 17
Game 2 – No. 1 UC San Diego (35-12) vs. Loser of Game 1 at 3:30 p.m.
Game 3 – No. 1 UC San Diego (35-12) vs. Winner of Game 1 at 7 p.m.
 
Saturday, May 18
Game 4 – Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3 at 3:30 p.m.
Game 5 – Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 4 at 7 p.m. (if necessary)
 
*If the No. 1 Seed wins Game 2, then Game 3 will become the first of a best-of-three series between the No. 1 Seed and the winner of Game 1.
*If the winner of Game 2 is the loser of Game 1, the loser of Game 2 will play the winner of Game 1.
*If three teams remain after Game 3, refer to the alternate bracket to determine matchups.
 
Up next
The winner of this NCAA West Regional will move on face the winner of the other West Regional in the NCAA Super Regional on May 24-25.