PLNU STAVES OFF ELIMINATION, MUST WIN TWICE TODAY
Point Loma Nazarene’s road to the PacWest championship took a detour Thursday, when the top-seeded Sea Lions lost 9-6 to secondseeded Azusa Pacific in a winners’ bracket game at the conference tournament.
PLNU stayed on the field late Thursday night for an elimination game against host Fresno Pacific, staying alive with a seven-run sixth inning that delivered a 13-6 win.
With the result, the Sea Lions (36-13) return to the field today at noon, needing two victories over Azusa Pacific (33-17) to take the PacWest Tournament title and earn the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division II
Tournament.
PLNU got in an early hole against Azusa, which led 5-0 after three-run and two-run homers off Sea Lions starting pitcher Ray Cebulski (6-3) in the first two innings. PLNU rallied for three runs — two of them on a third-inning double by Jakob Christian — to get within 5-3 midway through the game, but the Sea Lions couldn’t get over the hump.
Against Fresno Pacific, the Sea Lions trailed 6-3 after two innings. Solo homers by PLNU’s Jake Entrekin and Scott Anderson cut the deficit to one run in the fifth.
Then it was the big sixth inning that was highlighted by two-run singles from both Christian and Jack Malone. Christian, who had a threerun homer in the first inning, had five hits and five RBIs in the game.
Christian broke the school’s single-season RBI record and now has 66 RBIs for the year to go along with a school-record 25 homers.
San Diego State
Notable: The first-place Aztecs (20-24, 14-9) travel to second-place Air Force (2326, 14-10) with an eye on clinching a spot in the fourteam Mountain West Tournament. SDSU needs two wins to secure a berth in the double-elimination tournament that will be hosted by Fresno.
SDSU’s TJ Fondtain (6-2) is building a case as MW Pitcher of the Year. The junior left-hander is 5-1 over his last eight starts with a 1.15 ERA and 58 strikeouts with 12 walks. Fondtain leads the conference in ERA (2.65), opponent batting average (.190) and innings pitched (742⁄3), is the co-leader in wins and second in strikeouts (78).
Air Force has succeeded with an offense that ranks second in the MW in batting average (.294) and scoring (7 runs/game), despite its pitching being last in ERA (7.28), opponent batting average (.324) and home runs allowed (62).
This weekend: TodaySunday at Air Force, 1 p.m./11 a.m./11 a.m.
University of San Diego
Notable: The Toreros (2223-1, 15-9) conclude the regular season at Saint Mary’s (20-22, 13-11) needing one win to clinch a spot in the sixteam West Coast Conference Tournament. USD has next week off for finals before the double-elimination tourney begins the final week in Las Vegas.
USD is still without its leading hitter. Junior infielder/outfielder Kevin Sim (.298, 13 HR, 40 RBIs) has been sidelined the past three weeks with an eye injury suffered against USF.
Senior right-hander Ryan Robinson (6-1) is the Toreros’ winningest pitcher, picking up all the victories while coming out of the bullpen on 19 of his 20 appearances. He has compiled a 2.62 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 341⁄3 innings.
This weekend: TodaySunday at Saint Mary’s, 3 p.m./1 p.m./1 p.m.
UC San Diego
Notable: The Tritons (2718, 15-9) face the season’s biggest challenge in a series at Big West leader Cal State Fullerton (28-16, 17-4). The Titans have won all seven conference series this season, finding ways to win with a squad that ranks in the middle of the Big West in both offense (.273, 283 runs) and pitching (5.01 ERA).
UCSD freshman Brandon Larson ranks fourth in the conference with 44 RBIs, along with a team-high nine homers.
This weekend: TodaySunday at Cal State Fullerton, 6 p.m./5 p.m./1 p.m.