CARY, N.C. – Point Loma wrapped up a historic season as the national runner-up at the NCAA Division II Baseball Championships following a 5-3 loss to No. 1 North Greenville on Friday night, finishing the record-breaking season with a 51-10 record.
 
Point Loma won its half of the bracket with a 2-0 win over Rollins earlier in the day, and had to turn around to face the tournament's top seed, which was undefeated in the tournament going into the championship game.
 
The Sea Lions outhit North Greenville 10-8, but the Crusader pitchers recorded 16 strikeouts to get out of several jams and strand runners on base. Each of the top-4 batters in the Sea Lions' lineup recorded multiple hits.
 
Point Loma became the first PacWest team to reach the National Championship Game as well as the first team to eclipse 50 wins in a single season. The Sea Lions' baseball team is the second team from Point Loma to reach the championship game, joining the 2019 men's basketball team, which also finished runner-up.
 
"We played one of the toughest schedules in the entire country for 30 straight game last year," head coach Justin James said of winning 51 games this year after having won 11 last year. "These guys grinded through that and this is what happens when you come on the other side, don't complain and just learn. This is the same team as last year, just a year older."
 
Jack Gonzales got the start on the mound on just three days rest and he allowed just one earned run in four innings of work as well as one unearned run. In the fourth inning, the bases were loaded with two outs as the Crusaders looked to add to their 2-0 lead. Ethan Stringer lifted a ball down the leftfield line that would have scored at least two runs, but Jack Malone flew in for a diving catch to end the inning with a highlight reel play.
 
"Honestly, I can't remember much of making the catch," Malone said. "It was just instincts. It was really exciting to make the play and celebrate with my teammates afterwards. My coaches put me in a good spot to make the play. We take a lot of pride in defense. We know that winning games comes down to pitching and defense."
 
The big play in the field led to some quick success in the plate as Otto Kemp hit a leadoff home run right away to get Point Loma on the board. It was his 17th home run of the season and made him a perfect 61 for 61 in reaching base at least once every game this season.
 
"I try not to think about it," Kemp said about the streak. "Something that we have done a lot of work on is just the mental approach to hitting. Baseball is the hardest game in the world. It's a game of failure, but I think that one of the things we pride ourselves on is that it is a competition between you and the pitcher. I try to go up there with a mindset of 'this guy is not going to beat me.'"
 
Nathan Garkow entered the game in relief and put two zeroes on the board to keep Point Loma within one run of the Crusaders. However, the Sea Lions couldn't add another run to Kemp's solo home run. Then in the seventh inning, North Greenville used small ball to take advantage of a leadoff single, resulting in a pair of insurance runs scoring that proved to be crucial later in the game. The Crusaders then made the lead 5-1 with three outs to go in the eighth inning on a walk, stolen base and RBI-single.
 
Kemp led off the ninth inning with his sixth hit of the day after having gone 4 for 4 in the day game. Then Baxter Halligan pulled a no-doubter into scoreboard out over rightfield to cut the deficit in half. That gave Kemp his 76th run of the season, adding to his PacWest single-season record.
 
"I knew that was going to be my last at-bat of the game. He threw a lot of sliders and they had been throwing me breaking pitches all day, so I was looking for a slider and just trying to put a good swing on it."
 
That ended up being as close as Point Loma got with the next two batters being retired to end the game, making North Greenville the national champion.
 
"The support from Point Loma baseball players from decades ago that were streaming the games from the beach or at work incredible," James said. "I got so many emails of support that I couldn't get any work done."
 
Hunter Otjen went 2 for 4 with a walk for the Sea Lions and also pitched one inning in relief, striking out a pair of batters. Point Loma finishes the postseason with an 8-3 record, winning the NCAA West Sub-Regional, the NCAA West Regional Championship Series, and the top half of the eight-team bracket at the NCAA National Championships in the most successful season by a PacWest team in conference history.
 

2022 NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team 

C: Easton Waterman, Point Loma 
1B: Mike Ferrara, West Chester 
2B: Gehrig Octavio, North Greenville 
3B: Pat Monteith, North Greenville 
SS: Scott Anderson, Point Loma 
OF: Ryan Coleman, Rollins 
OF: Jack Malone, Point Loma 
DH: John Michael Faile, North Greenville 
P: Jaylyn Whitehead, Rollins 
P/UTL: Baxter Halligan, Point Loma
P/MVP: Reece Fields, North Greenville