(SAN DIEGO)
Josiah Rodriguez couldn't have asked for a better collegiate debut.
In his first career collegiate at-bat, Rodriguez laced a walk-off line drive to right field in the 10th inning to give No. 5 PLNU Baseball a 3-2 win over Chico State in the Sea Lions' season opener.
After
Owen May singled to lead off the bottom of the 10th and advanced to second on a
Luke Reece sacrifice bunt,
Noah Meffert was intentionally walked to put runners on first and second with one out.
A successful double steal then advanced May to third and Meffert to second, setting the stage for Rodriguez's heroics.
Point Loma forced extra innings thanks to an RBI-single from
Bryson Hashimoto in the bottom of the eighth, with PLNU trailing 2-1.
Jake Entrekin hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning which gave Point Loma an early 1-0 advantage.
Chico State then tied the game with an opposite-field, solo shot to left in the top of the third before taking the lead in the top of the sixth.
Branden Jackel came out of the bullpen to throw 4.2 scoreless innings in relief of starter
Ray Cebulski, who put together a quality start of two-run ball across 5.1 innings.
A pair of 7-5-2 putouts kept PLNU's deficit at one with Hashimoto throwing out two runners at the plate, before the senior third baseman came through with the bat to ultimately send the game to extras.
Point Loma (1-0 overall) returns to Carroll B. Land Stadium on Saturday for a doubleheader against Chico State beginning at 11 a.m.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
