SAN DIEGO-For the first time in program history, the Point Loma Sea Lions are heading to the NCAA Division II Baseball National Championships thanks to a 5-2 victory over the Azusa Pacific Cougars Saturday during the NCAA West Super Regional at Carroll B. Land Stadium.

Point Loma (48-8 overall) will continue their special season in Cary, North Carolina next week thanks to their trademark pitching, top-notch defense, and clutch-hitting.

Both of Point Loma's starters were solid, with Jack Gonzales and Dylan Miller each holding the Cougars to two runs over 6.2 in each of their outings. But while PLNU dropped game one 7-2 after an APU rally, the Sea Lions overcame a two-run deficit in game two and held on behind Miller and Zachary Veen, who closed the Region Championship with 2.1 innings of scoreless baseball.

"We talk about you needing two things," Head Coach Justin James. "You need God and Pitching and that always helps. And then these guys, once they get that electricity going through the dugout I've never seen a dugout go bananas the way they do. They do love supporting each other and you can see the zeal all over the place."

The first four innings of the game breezed by as a pitcher's duel was in the making. PLNU's Jack Gonzales painted the corners early in the count that induced weak contact from many of the APU hitters. The starting pitcher for the Cougars, Steven Silvas, was just as effective on the mound. He held the Point Loma bats hitless through the first four innings.

The Sea Lions struck first in the fifth by manufacturing a rally with a hit by a pitch and bunt single from Jack Malone. A throwing error on the bunt single proved to be crucial as it advanced the runners 90 feet and allowed Jason DuMont's groundout to score a run.

Otto Kemp built off his team's momentum capping off a long at-bat with a single to left that scored Malone and made it a 2-0 lead for Point Loma.

APU answered back an inning later in the sixth when Tido Robles' solo home run off Gonzales cut the PLNU lead in half. The Cougars tagged Gonzales for another run in the seventh with Casey Dykstra's solo shot to right field.

Cole Hillier came on in relief of Gonzales to record the final out of the seventh. However, when he returned to the mound in the eighth Hiller wasn't his typical lights-out.

 Azusa Pacific broke the game wide open by way of Omar Lopez's grand slam to right. The go-ahead homer from Lopez chased Hillier from the game, and with two outs in the inning, APU worked numerous walks to collect their fifth run of the inning.

The 7-2 lead created by the Cougars was more than enough for their pitching. Silas managed to keep the PLNU bats silent in his final two innings of work. Hayden Merda entered from the bullpen to provide APU with two more scoreless innings.

Merda's two-inning save sealed the second game of the series, and the first game of Saturday, to force a tiebreaker later that afternoon.

After Gonzales' solid outing in game two of the series, PLNU's Dylan Miller followed suit with an impressive start of his own. In a crucial winner take all game Miller went six and two-thirds strong, giving up just two runs on six hits.

Despite the masterful performance from Miller, APU wasted little time batting home a run in game three. Building off their momentum from the win that morning, the Cougars were quick to collect hits early on in the game. Azusa went up 1-0 courtesy of Dykstra's sacrifice fly that was made possible by back-to-back hits to begin the second inning.

Miller walked the APU's leadoff batter in the fourth, and the runner was moved to third on a single down the line. Casey O'Laughlin executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to get the Cougars' second run across and extend the lead to 2-0.

Hunter Otjen sparked the Point Loma offense in the bottom half of that inning with a leadoff home run to right. Jakob Christian turned that spark into a flame when he sent a solo shot into deep left field to tie the game.

The game-tying homer from Christian made it a brand new ballgame, and Miller made his offense's efforts count. Finding a groove on the mound, Miller kept APU from recapturing the lead through the next two innings.

While Miller did his job on the mound, the Sea Lion hitters continued to rally in the bottom of the fifth. After Kemp lined out into a double play, it appeared as if APU's starter David Hays had escaped trouble. However, Scott Anderson's two-out double rekindled Point Loma's offense and began a momentous rally.

Baxter Halligan and Otjen each worked walks to load the bases for Christian. The PacWest Freshmen of the Year came through in the clutch once again in game three, shooting a ball through the 5-6 gap and into left field.

His go-ahead single-plated two runs to cap off PLNU's comeback and put Point Loma in the driver's seat up 4-2 heading into the sixth.

Anderson continued to make noise at the plate in his next at-bat, sending a hanging curveball from APU's reliever Brendan Dixon over the left-field fence. A trip to Cary, North Carolina for the College Baseball World Series was in reach for the Sea Lions, and Anderson's insurance run late in the making the trip that much more attainable.

A three-run lead late in the game for Zach Veen was plenty of run support for the lefty reliever. After needing just one pitch to escape a jam in the seventh, Veen mowed down the next six batters he faced.

His sixth save of the season came at arguably the most critical moment of the year, as Veen refused to let APU back in the game. A ground ball hit to no one else but Anderson, the PacWest Defensive Player of the Year, sealed the final out of the game and sent Carroll B. Land Stadium into a frenzy.

Point Loma will make its first trip to Cary after roughly a decade in the NCAA Division II. The Sea Lions have set the program record for wins while racking up numerous individual records and awards.

The Sea Lions will wait to find out their opponent and first-round match-up this weekend before heading east to continue their stellar season.