SEA LIONS OUSTED FROM DII TOURNEY
Point Loma Nazarene was in the NCAA Tournament until the very last day a year ago, finishing runner-up for the Division II national championship.
PLNU exited after the first day of this year’s NCAA Tournament, losing twice Thursday at West Regional No. 1 in the double-elimination event.
The No. 4 seeded Sea Lions fell 5-4 to No. 5 Cal Poly in the tournament opener. They stayed on the field and were eliminated 11-8 by top-seeded host Cal State Monterey Bay.
Just like that, a season that moved methodically toward this moment the past 31⁄2 months was over with swiftly.
The Sea Lions finished the year with a 36-16 record.
PLNU was nine outs from elimination, trailing Monterey Bay by five runs through six innings, when outfielder Jack Malone hit a seventh-inning grand slam that made it 9-8 and provided hope.
The Sea Lions couldn’t get even, however, then watched the Otters score twice in the seventh to extend their lead.
In the opener, PLNU starting pitcher Dylan Miller limited Cal Poly to two runs and struck out eight over seven innings.
Sea Lions closer Cole Hillier (5-1) came on in the eighth inning to protect a 3-2 lead, but Cal Poly scored once in the eighth and twice in the ninth for a 5-3 advantage.
The insurance run proved crucial when PLNU’s Scott Anderson homered in the ninth.
PLNU sophomore first baseman Jakob Christian homered in both games, giving him 28 homers and 70 RBIs for the season. Both are single-season school records.
Christian’s HR against Cal Poly broke the school’s career home run record, a mark he extended to 41 homers against Monterey Bay.
San Diego State
Notable: The Aztecs (2227, 16-11, .593 MW) clinched a berth in the four-team Mountain West Tournament in dramatic fashion Thursday night at Tony Gwynn Stadium when Caden Miller hit a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 5-3 victory over New Mexico (26-23, 1315).
SDSU came into the series tied for second with San
Jose State (24-24, 15-11, .577), just percentage points behind first-place Air Force (2527, 16-11, .593). The Aztecs haven’t won a regular season MW title since 2004, but could still do so this year.
Here are the scenarios for finishing first:
Sweep New Mexico, with Air Force (at UNLV) and San Jose State (vs. Nevada) both losing one game.
Win two games against New Mexico, with Air Force and San Jose State both losing two games.
Win one game against New Mexico, with Air Force and San Jose State both getting swept.
SDSU ranks first in the seven-team MW in pitching (4.78 ERA, 9.2 strikeouts/ game) and last in hitting (.248, 5 runs/game).
This weekend: ThursdaySaturday vs. New Mexico, 6 p.m./6 p.m./11 a.m.
UC San Diego
Notable: The Tritons (3118, 18-9 Big West) sit second to Cal State Fullerton (28-19, 17-7) in the Big West as they conclude their third season in Division I with three games at last-place UC Riverside (1135, 5-19).
If UCSD wins its eighth conference series of the season it will all but assure the Tritons of a top-three finish in the Big West. They finished eighth last season after tying for fourth in 2021.
Much of the improvement this season is due to a resurgent pitching staff that ranks second in the Big West in ERA (4.47) and third in strikeouts (455).
This weekend: TodaySunday at UC Riverside, 6 p.m./6 p.m./1 p.m.
University of San Diego
Notable: The Toreros (2424-1, 17-10 WCC), who concluded the regular season last weekend, have this week off for finals before heading to Las Vegas for next week’s West Coast Conference Tournament.
The top two teams in the conference receive a firstround bye in the six-team tournament. Loyola Marymount (26-22, 18-6) has clinched the first seed. USD is in second place entering the weekend, although Portland (27-20, 15-9) and Santa Clara (28-18, 14-10) still have a shot at the second seed.
The tournament winner earns the WCC’s automatic berth in the NCAA Division I Tournament.