(LA MIRADA, Calif.) No. 4 PLNU Baseball officially three-peated as PacWest champions on Saturday with a comeback 7-6 victory over Biola.
After clinching at least a share of the PacWest title with Friday's doubleheader sweep of BU, Point Loma ensured there would only be one champion after overturning a late four-run deficit in Saturday's first game.
The Sea Lions entered the day needing one win or a Westmont loss to claim the outright conference crown, but took matters into its own hands by scoring five runs over the final three innings to take down the Eagles.
PLNU took an early 2-0 lead in the third inning on
Eric Smelko's two-RBI single, before BU scored three runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings to go up 6-2.
Tommy Molina got one back for the visitors in the seventh, hitting his first career home run.
PLNU then tied it up in the eighth with three runs, scoring on
Jack Malone's walk, Molina's fielder's choice, and
Joey Nicolai's single.
Scott Anderson then completed the comeback with a solo shot in the ninth, becoming Point Loma's all-time career runs leader in the process.
James Sashin struck out three batters in the bottom half to close out his 15th save of the season, after
Jonathan Kozasky and
Christian Williams also pitched scoreless outings out of the bullpen.
BU responded in game two with a 9-0 shutout win over PLNU, who made seven changes to its starting lineup. However, that did little to dampen the mood for the Sea Lions, who finished the PacWest season with a two-game lead atop the conference standings.
Point Loma (36-9-1 overall, 25-6-1 PacWest) concludes the regular season having won 18 of its last 20 games.
The Sea Lions will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming PacWest Championships, scheduled for May 8-10 in Azusa.
