PLNUDealsAPUFirstLoss

Starting pitcher Chris Honer (left) greets closer Robbie Naegele after a win in game one against Azusa Pacific on Saturday. Honer picked up the win, going more than seven innings and giving up two runs, while Naegele closed out the Cougars for the victory. Photo by Jorge De La Torre

Sophomore Ian MacMaster smashes the homerun that gave PLNU the lead for good in Saturday’s 8-2 win against Azusa Pacific. Photo by Jorge De La Torre

The Sea Lions opened conference play on Saturday at home against No. 2 Azusa Pacific in a doubleheader. The two teams split the series with the Sea Lions, taking the first game by a score of 8-2, while dropping the second with a final score of 6-4.

The momentum changed hands on numerous occasions throughout the first game, junior pitcher Chris Honer was handed the ball to start game one and did not disappoint. Honer made good use of all his pitches, especially his fastball, as he went on to strike out four in 7 1/3 innings of work.

“My fastball was really good,” said Honer. “I was able to put it wherever I [wanted]. I could spot that right away.”

The game started out as a pitchers’ duel through the first five innings, as both Honer and APU starter Garrett Hodges allowed only four hits and no walks. The Sea Lions had a chance to put some runs on the board in the second inning but caught a tough break when Jesse Gil’s groundball hit Tyler Kuehl in the ankle as he ran to second, making Kuehl the final out of the inning.

APU struck first in the fourth inning, but PLNU did not wait long to strike back. Kurt Steinhauer began the sixth with a single to centerfield and scored on a double by Andy Reilly. Next up was sophomore Ian MacMaster. After taking a couple of pitches, MacMaster waited for his pitch and drilled the ball over the right field fence, sending the crowd into a frenzy and putting the Sea Lions up 3-1.

APU threatened PLNU in the eighth inning by putting runners on the corners with one out. After a magnificent performance by Honer, closer Robbie Naegele came in to preserve the lead. Kirk Nieuwenhuis singled to right on Naegele’s first offering and brought in a run. Naegele settled down and retired the next two hitters and pumped his fist as the momentum shifted back to the Sea Lions.

“It was fun,” said Naegele. “It was [actually] funny because we had the momentum going in the end so it wasn’t as nerve-wracking. It was fun.”

PLNU broke the game wide open at the bottom of the eighth, scored four runs and never looked back. Naegele came back out to close the game and retired the side. The crowd let out big cheers and high-fived as the Sea Lions handed the second-ranked Cougars their first loss of the year.

“Our team was really excited. I was excited with our clutch hitting,” said Honer. “This is the first conference game all year and so far the most important game all year.”

Naegele added, “We needed someone to step up and [Honer] did. He knew what he had to do and he did it. He set a tone.”
The second game, however, did not go as well for the Sea Lions. PLNU starter Andrew Bovich only lasted 2 1/3 innings, giving up six hits and three runs.

The Cougars got on the board early after a homerun and RBI single in the first. The Sea Lions put one up in the second after a homerun by Reilly, but the Cougars took a demanding 6-1 lead behind five innings of work by Jonny Bravo. The Sea Lion offense eventually got to him and started a two-out rally in which they scored three runs, cutting the Cougar lead to 6-4. In the end, it was not enough to match the Cougars. PLNU went down in order in the last inning and suffered the loss.

After stellar pitching by the Sea Lions in game one, the team used five pitchers in game two.

“I told the guys it was our lack of ability to execute pitches,” said associate head coach Joe Schaefer.

The two teams will meet again on March 29 in Azusa, and the Sea Lions will play two away games this week: Wednesday at Concordia and at No. 25 Biola on Saturday.