(AZUSA, Calif.) With one weekend remaining in the regular season, No. 4 PLNU Baseball moved into a tie atop the PacWest standings after completing a series sweep of Azusa Pacific, winning both games of Saturday's doubleheader by scores of 7-3 and 9-6.
Joey Nicolai got the Sea Lions on the board with a sacrifice fly in the second inning of game one, before
Bryson Hashimoto's two-run homer in the third put Point Loma up by three.
APU got one back in the fifth before the visitors tacked on three in the seventh and one more in the eighth.
Esai Santos singled in Nicolai to start the three-run seventh, which was capped off by
Scott Anderson's third home run of the series, this time a two-run shot to right.
Nicolai then rounded out the scoring the eighth with an RBI-single.
Austyn Coleman earned his eighth win of the season on the mound, pitching six innings and only allowing one run.
Christian Williams then pitched three shutout innings out of the bullpen to earn the save.
Then in game two, a five-run fifth helped PLNU overturn a deficit and complete the sweep.
The Cougars struck first in the bottom of the first, only for the Sea Lions to respond immediately with three runs in the top of the second.
Nicolai plated a pair with a single to center before Santos picked up the first of his four RBIs in the game with a single to right.
APU retook its lead, with one run in the second and two more in the third, which only lasted until the top of the fifth when PLNU's offense scored five.
Owen May singled to left to score one, followed by
Eric Smelko's RBI hit by pitch. Santos then cleared the bases with a double to right center to make it 8-4 Sea Lions.
May then homered to right in the seventh to add a valuable insurance run.
Point Loma (33-8-1 overall, 22-5-1 PacWest) extends its winning streak to six games and is now tied with Westmont atop the PacWest standings.
The Sea Lions will finish their regular season this upcoming week with a four-game conference series against Biola.
On Friday, PLNU will host BU on Senior Day in a doubleheader scheduled to begin at noon. The series will then conclude on Saturday in La Mirada.
