PLNU FALTERS, NOW AWAITS AT-LARGE BID

Fortunes can turn on a dime when the regular season gives way to the postseason.

Point Loma Nazarene baseball watched that happen over the past 48 hours in the PacWest Tournament, going from the topseeded team and a lopsided opening-game win to bowing out with a pair of losses against inaugural tournament champion Azusa Pacific.

Azusa Pacific 10, Sea Lions 6

PLNU was in command late in Friday’s championship game against Azusa before the roof fell in during a six-run eighth inning that keyed a 10-6 victory for the Cougars.

“Obviously there’s some things that you can look back on, a certain pitch here or there,” PLNU coach Justin James said, “however, I think the character of the team really showed that no matter what the score was or how things were going, they played the exact brand of baseball that they’re taught to.”

The PacWest Tournament title affords Azusa Pacific (34-17) the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Tournament. PLNU (36-14) will need to get an atlarge berth for the West Regional that begins May 18.

Three automatic berths in the West go to the tournament champions from the PacWest, California Collegiate Athletic Association and Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

The other three spots are filled with atlarge berths determined from NCAA rankings.

PLNU and Azusa Pacific were ranked third and fourth, respectively, in the most recent rankings. By reaching the finals, the Sea Lions are expected to remain among the top six teams in the West. They will know for sure on Sunday at 7 p.m., when the “NCAA DII Baseball Selection Show” is streamed on NCAA.com.