IRVINE, Calif. -- Point Loma and Azusa Pacific, who are the top-2 teams in the NCAA West Region rankings, remained tied for first place in the PacWest after both teams won three of four games to set up an exciting finish to the regular season.
Point Loma took a one-game lead after Azusa Pacific dropped its series opener against Hawai`i Hilo. However, the Cougars came back to win the final three games. Meanwhile, Concordia took one game off Point Loma when the series moved to Irvine to make the two teams tied at the top of the standings once again.
Baxter Halligan hit a go-ahead RBI-single to lead the Sea Lions to the win in the second game of the series against Concordia as Point Loma won, 7-5. On the mound, Halligan is just one win away from tying the PacWest record.
Tido Robles came up with the game-winning hit in Azusa Pacific’s extra-innings 11-10 win over Hawai`i Hilo. He hit a single back up the middle to end the game and give the Cougars their third-consecutive win. Robles is now the PacWest leader in home runs with 16.
Azusa Pacific will finish the regular season against Biola with two games in La Mirada before the series moves to Azusa. The Eagles won all four of their games last week, sweeping Hawai`i Pacific to move into fourth place in the PacWest standings.
Point Loma’s final series will be at Fresno Pacific as both teams battle for berths in the NCAA West Regional. The Sunbirds still have a chance to win a share of the PacWest title if they sweep Point Loma and get some help from Biola in its series against Azusa Pacific.
Weekly awards for the week of April 25-May 1
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Oscar Serratos Jr., Biola
SS, Sr., 6-3 -- Lawrenceville, Ga.
Serratos helped Biola move into fourth place in the PacWest standings with four wins last week against Hawai`i Pacific with three or more hits in three of the four wins. Serratos recorded a hit, steal and run in each of the games as he went 11 for 18 with six runs, four RBIs, one double and a home run. The home run is his 14th of the year, which is the second-most in the PacWest this year. In the first doubleheader of the series he went 7 for 10 with a double and home run, driving in four runs with four runs scored of his own and three stolen bases. He stole a base in each of the next two games to go 22 for 23 in stolen bases so far this year. He is the only PacWest player this year with double digit steals and home runs. He went 3 for 4 in the final game of the series, hitting three singles to lift his batting average to .341 going into the final series of the season.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Jack Gonzales, Point Loma
LHP, Gr., 6-3 -- Oceanside, Calif.
Gonzales threw a 15-strikeout no-hitter against Concordia in a seven-inning game in which a walk was the only base runner allowed by Gonzales. He faced 22 batters, retiring 15 of them on strikes, while the other six outs came in the form of flyouts for a 5-0 win. Gonzales now has a 7-1 record on the season with a 2.63 earned run average and 84 strikeouts in 68.1 innings pitched. He started the game by striking out five of the first six batters he faced. In the third inning, he issued a walk for the lone baserunner allowed, but got a called strikeout to end the inning. He retired all of the next 14 batters he faced, including two strikeouts each in the fourth and fifth innings. In the sixth inning, he struck out the side in order, getting the last two batters to go down swinging. He made it five strikeouts in a row in the seventh inning to get within one out of completing the no-hitter. He fell behind the last batter 3-1, but eventually got a flyout to end the game.