Sea Lions devour Owls, sweep opening baseball series

Senior Jesse Gill connects for a hit in Friday’s 11-2 win over Oregon Tech. The Sea Lions went on to take three games from the Owls. Photo by Coco Jones

The Sea Lions showed no mercy on Friday and Saturday as they stomped the Oregon Tech Hustlin’ Owls in a three-game series.

The Sea Lions, in their season opener on Friday, defeated the Owls 11-2. Starting pitcher junior Chris Honer pitched seven innings during the game, only letting the Owls one run.

“It’s kind of why we gave [Honer] the opportunity to throw the first game,” said Joe Schaefer, Sea Lions associate head coach, “and he didn’t disappoint.”

Offensively, the Sea Lions were able to score 11 runs, with one homer each from senior Jesse Gill, junior Kurt Steinhauer and senior Andy Reilly.

“I felt good,” Gill said on his first homerun of the season. “Basically, we talked all fall [about] just coming out and being ready to play.”
Being ready proved more than enough for the Sea Lions as they dominated in Saturday’s doubleheader against the Owls, winning 14-3 in the first game and 9-2 in the second game.

Pitcher junior Andrew Bovich controlled the first five innings of the first game, allowing only three hits but no runs for the Owls. Freshman Kenny Houser was brought in for the sixth inning, but was then injured after being hit by the ball. Kevin Soares, a sophomore, came in to relieve Houser and end the game; the two surrendered a combined three runs to the Owls.

During the second game, the Sea Lions again kept the Owls at bay with sophomore starting pitcher Adam Herter and senior closer Robbie Naegele. Herter allowed two runs to get by but continued to shut down the Owls overall.

“Our pitchers are ahead in preparation,” said John Gunther, Sea Lions pitching coach. “Naturally, we have more sun here and practice opportunities for this time of year.”

On the offensive end, junior Mike Miles, junior Kaohi Downing and freshman Tyler Kuehl all scored more than three runs apiece in the doubleheader Saturday.

Despite the cloudy and gloomy weather, the Sea Lions were able to shine through all three games against Oregon Tech, both offensively and defensively. Andy Reilly, PLNU’s 2007 MVP, was excited about the 3-0 start to the season.

“I think what this means is the approach that we will try to take this year, as opposed to years before, is a game-to-game approach. I think it builds confidence when you have games like this.”