The Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) Sea Lions baseball team split a doubleheader on the road against the archrival Azusa Pacific University (APU) Cougars on Saturday. PLNU lost the first game 3-1 but came back to win the nightcap 2-0. “We were able to get the split even though we didn’t play that well,” said PLNU head baseball coach Joe Schae-ffer. “We struggled on offense, but we pitched well.” The split for the Sea Lions can be considered a step forward after they were swept at APU by a combined score of 23-10 last year, losing 10-5 and 13-5 at the hands of the Cougars. Hard-luck starter Chad Blauer (5-1) pitched 8 innings but gave up two unearned runs to record his first loss of the season. Andrew Bovich (5-0) salvaged the series with a complete-game shutout of the Cougars to stay undefeated. The win also helped PLNU maintain its one-game lead over APU (13-5) in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). PLNU leads The Master’s College (12-6) by two games and has a three-game lead over Fresno Pacific (12-8). “It is always good to get a split, especially against these guys,” said center fielder Kurt Steinhauer, a senior. Overall, PLNU is off to a strong start with a record of 20-7, recording a 14-4 GSAC record. “I am pretty happy with how well the season has gone so far,” Schaeffer said. “Our pitching staff has been very good. We fought through some adversity early in the year when we lost some games early, but our guys have been fighting back in the late innings, which is good to see.” The recent successes included an 8-game winning streak and 9 wins in the last 11 games. “It has been a great year and been a ton of fun so far,” said Steinhauer. The Sea Lions entered the 2009 campaign with question marks about the starting lineup and on the pitching staff. “The lineup became much more settled when our second baseman, Alex Cameron, broke his hand,” Schaeffer said. “That forced us to move guys around the infield.” Cameron’s injury also forced Schaeffer to rotate two players at the catcher position and three players at first base. PLNU has taken an advantage of a fortunate early schedule of playing 20 of the first 27 games at home at Carroll B. Land Stadium, but it will now play 14 of the next 21 games on the road. “It is hard to get excited right now because we know what is in front of us in the second half of this season,” Schaeffer said. The early success comes as no surprise to Schaeffer, who said he had confidence in his squad going into the season. “I knew what we were capable of if we put it all together,” Schaeffer said. “I like what I have seen so far. I believe we are a better team offensively this year, even though statistically it doesn’t show up. This year our hitters are tougher outs.” The Sea Lions will play a home and away series this week against GSAC rival Concordia with a home game today at 3 p.m. before getting ready to play eight of the next nine games on the road. “I see this team going all the way this year,” said Steinhauer. “This is the best team we’ve had since I’ve been here.”