(FRESNO, Calif.) Facing elimination from the PacWest Championships after an afternoon loss to Azusa Pacific, PLNU Baseball's best players stepped up to keep the Sea Lions' tournament hopes alive with a 13-6 elimination game victory over host Fresno Pacific on Thursday night.
PacWest Player of the Year
Jakob Christian broke the program's single-season RBI record after a 5-RBI game in which he went 5-for-6 with a three-run homer in the first inning.
Closer
Cole Hillier set career-highs pitching four innings and striking out eight to earn his ninth save of the season.
First Team All-PacWest selections
Scott Anderson and
Jake Entrekin both homered in the fifth inning to kickstart Point Loma's comeback bid, while fellow first teamer
Jack Malone hit a two-RBI single as part of PLNU's seven-run sixth inning that turned a one-run deficit into a six-run lead.
Point Loma jumped out to a 3-0 lead after Christian's moonshot, only for Fresno Pacific to score three two-out runs in the bottom half and another three in the second to go up, 6-3.
But after Anderson and Entrekin hit homers in the fifth to cut PLNU's deficit to just one, the Sea Lions blew the game open with yet another big inning this tournament.
"We got three runs in the first and that gave us a lot of confidence," Christian said. "We got behind but we didn't fret at all. We just stuck to our mission and scored one run at a time."
Christian's two-RBI single with the bases loaded restored PLNU's advantage.
David Garcia then scored another after being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, before Malone bounced one up the middle to plate two more.
Seth Ryberg capped off the inning with a two-run single of his own.
"It's contagious when the guys are all hitting," Christian said. "Everyone is loving it and the energy is great which helps."
Now leading by six, Hillier was then summoned from the bullpen to close the door on any hopes FPU had of extending its season.
Anderson added an insurance run with an RBI-single through the left side in the top of the ninth.
Point Loma's bullpen combined to pitch seven shutout innings, with
Max Montplaisir (2 IP, 2 K) and
Josh Combs (1 IP, 2 K) taking the mound before Hillier.
"Obviously it was a very big win right there against a very good opponent," Head Coach
Justin James said. "It was a long day but these guys have about as endless an amount of energy as I've ever seen. It ended up in our favor."
Top-seeded Point Loma (36-13 overall) now advances to play second-seeded Azusa Pacific (33-17) at noon on Friday. PLNU will need to win to force a winner-take-all second championship game at 4 p.m.
