2020 POINT LOMA BASEBALL SEASON PREVIEW

Practice and training
Although it is only his second year, the philosophies and values coach James has set forth for the program has paid off. The players have been working hard in preparation for their season opener against Montana State Billings on Jan. 31.

"The coaching staff and I were very stoked on how the fall went," said James. "It was one of the best falls I have been a part of since becoming a college coach. The new leadership, culture, and work ethic that these guys have upheld was extremely impressive and like I said I don't know if I've seen that before."

Returners
On the bump, the Sea Lions return, PacWest Pitcher of the Year, Zack Noll, and second team All-PacWest selection Nathan Garkow. Behind them will be an infield made up of Justin Ledgerwood (1B), Travis Takata (2B), Otto Kemp (3B), and Miguel Cazares (SS) that combined to post a .965 fielding percentage.

"Obviously an older team is the goal and we brought the right guys back that were upperclassmen," explained James. "There are a lot of older guys on the mound that threw a ton of innings a year ago and that went deep into the postseason last year. Winning a couple of games really helped those guys that were younger come back with some added experience. I think from top to bottom there is plenty of experience in big games and it has paid huge dividends going into the fall."

"The upperclassmen that came back all of them had equal parts in setting the standards for the guys that came in," he continued. "You can't replace someone like Micah Pries, but you have Brett O'Toole, Justin Ledgerwood, Otto Kemp and Travis Takata who have shown really big leadership capabilities, and they are really good players. We couldn't be happier getting them back for the second year of the program."

Newcomers
With a great mix of freshmen and transfers coming into the program James and the rest of the coaching staff believe they can make an impact right away, and some of them already have.

"The newcomers bring a lot of things, more than I thought to be honest, which is great," he said. "Some guys take a while to mature, but we have had some guys in the fall step up and play really well. The fall and the spring are two different things. A kid who had a great fall was freshmen outfielder Jack Malone who is competing for a starting spot in center field. The younger pitchers came in and handled the fall well. It is not easy and some players crack, but they learned a lot so I'm excited to see what they are going to do in our bullpen to start."

Starting Rotation
With three starting pitchers returning to the rotation the Sea Lions will lean on them heavily to get them deep into games. Zack Noll looks to build off an impressive first year at PLNU, after being named PacWest Pitcher of the Year and NCBWA All-America Honorable Mention. Noll went 10-2 striking out 102 batters in 83.1 innings pitched. Garkow will come into 2020 after a season that saw him go 6-3 with a 3.53 ERA and earn second team All-PacWest. Stirling Strong will be another leader on the mound that the Sea Lions can depend on after going 4-3 with a 3.76 ERA.

"They [the upperclassmen] took it and ran with the leadership and standards we have here at Point Loma," said James. "Obviously on the mound, you have Zack Noll who was excellent for us last year, he is equally as good on the field as off the field. Stirling Strong threw a ton of innings for us, he has a really good work ethic as well. Nathan Garkow coming back also threw a lot of innings for us. They will lead our pitching staff from the starting roles."

Bullpen
The Sea Lions return Steven Elliott, Nick Cornelius, and Jerry Quemada to their bullpen, who combined struck out 130 batters. They also add some strong pieces including two junior transfers Andrew Amato and Joey Becher who are each competing for innings at the back of the bullpen.

"The bullpen is much improved from a year ago," said James. "Drew Amato transferred in as a junior from from Olney College is going to be either a very high-quality backend reliever or our fourth starter. The same thing with Joey Becher, a junior transfer from Southwestern College. It's tough because do you want them in the starting rotation or bullpen?"

"We return Steven Elliott who was about as dependable as it will ever come to Division II relievers," continued James. "Steven Elliott threw a ton of innings, it seemed like he threw every single game for us last year. Nick Cornelius was a very good pitcher from a year ago. Another guy mixed for the starter/backend role would be Jerry Quemada he has pitched in some big games for us. He closed out one of our postseason wins, but it's too early to tell for those roles. The bullpen is much improved from a year ago which is very exciting because bullpens win games and if you don't have a good bullpen it doesn't matter what your starters do."

Infield
The infield will be a backbone for the Sea Lions all year. Coach James is very excited about the returners and their potential on what they can do both defensively and offensively.

"We obviously bring back Miguel Cazares, he is a dude," explained James. "We love having him (Cazares) out there. He has good leadership capabilities during the game which is huge. We will have Otto Kemp at third base mixed in with Easton Waterman, but Waterman is also one of our best catchers. So it's dependent on how we can get him at bats. Travis Takata is a returning second baseman and he had a great fall, and a great year in 2019, so we have big expectations for him.

"We also have Justin Ledgerwood who was fun to watch all year and has obviously gotten better even from a year ago which is exciting to see," he added. "Then Baxter Halligan is a right fielder/left-handed pitcher but the kid can also play first base if we need him to. He might be a better first baseman than an outfielder. It's a bit too early to tell on that, but still, some flexibility is really cool. We also have Jarret Lindsay who is going to catch a ton for us and is improved from a year ago, so I'm pretty impressed with this group."

Outfield
With the departures of Micah Pries and John Balliet, the Sea Lions are going to look to newcomers James Halpin, Baxter Halligan, Jack Malone, and others to fill the void. Each has shown exceptional promise in the roles given to them.

"Once again we lost a couple of outfielders from last year, but we get Brett O'Toole back in left," said James. "He did a great job last year and he came back in exceptional shape from the summer and I was very impressed with him. I mentioned Jack Malone possibly in center field and Izayah Alvarez they are battling that one out. Both Alvarez and Malone are really good players, both can run a little bit and catch the ball, so we are really comfortable there."

"In right field, we have a transfer from De Anza College, James Halpin," James continued. "We brought him in to be one of our key players. He has been hurt all fall with a wrist injury but he is getting healthy right now. He is going to be an impact bat from the leftside. The plan from him is going to be letting him roam out there in right field. We also brought in another transfer Baxter Halligan, and he has been just tearing the cover off the baseball. He has a great work ethic as well. He is going to be a two-way guy and also pitch. We have high expectations for him."

Depth
With the emergence of some newcomers and a great offseason by the returners, the Sea Lions will rely on their depth which will play a huge factor in their schedule. Early in February the Sea Lions play five games in five days and once conference starts, they play 34 innings in two days, so there is always a need for depth.  Coach James believes PLNU could roll out two or three different lineups and be confident in each of them.

"Depth is everything, it can kill you or really help you," he explained. "A year ago we had really good players. We didn't have a whole lot of moves that we could make off the bench. The depth we have this year, it's a good problem to have because we could roll out two or three different types of lineups and still be okay. You never know people get hurt, and random things happen in this game, and that is where the depth really ends up being the difference-maker."

Schedule
PLNU faces a packed non-conference schedule that sees the Sea Lions playing eight games against ranked opponents, including No. 2 ranked UC San Diego three times, and CCAA foe No. 35 Cal Poly Pomona. The Sea Lions will also play PacWest rival No. 21 ranked Azusa Pacific eight times (four non-conference, four in PacWest play).

"I don't know if anyone has a harder schedule than we do," explained James. Within the first month we play three different regional teams; Montana State Billings who we open up against, UC San Diego, Cal Poly Pomona. We then play Azusa Pacific eight times and they are one of the best teams in the region, if not country, just like UCSD. We are packed with 15-16 top end ranked games within the first month of the year. It is going to be tough but we are going to learn a lot through those games and those are the opponents you want to play so you can find out what you need to get better at and it's just awesome playing that kind of competition."

Goals
One value that Coach James has instilled heavily in the program is work ethic. He wants his team to use each day to get better both on and off the field. PLNU finished third in the PacWest last year and are hungry to chase after a conference championship, but they don't want it to stop there. Their goals are looking beyond just conference play.

"We have actually kept it simple for our goals, more of just that we maximize each day," said James. "Obviously everyone has the same goals to win a national championship, to win a regional, and to win the conference. We have those same goals as well, but what the difference between the teams that win those and not win those, that's the daily work ethic. That's what we've really hounded on this year and last year."

Conclusion
With the values, philosophies and the great mix of newcomers and returners, the Sea Lions have good things in sight for the 2020 season. Coach James and the Sea Lions are ready to compete not just at the regional level, but at the national level.