The Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) Sea Lions will host conference rival Concordia at
3 p.m. Friday, May 4, at Carroll Land Stadium in the first game of double elimination in the Region II Playoffs.
“We feel it’s a decent matchup with Concordia, but when you get into the playoffs it’s always a different game,” said PLNU head coach Jack Northam. The Sea Lions had success against Concordia in the regular season, taking three of the four games and outscoring Concordia at home 29-7.
“Concordia is a dangerous team. They usually play their best in the playoffs. After they made the World Series last year, they can definitely be considered a sleeper this year,” Northam said.
The Sea Lions wrapped up their regular season with a third-place finish in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) at 23-13 and an overall record of 30-16, the program’s sixth consecutive 30-win season.
“We would have liked to come into the postseason in second place, but considering all the injuries we’ve had this season, we still had a decent regular season,” Northam said.
The Sea Lions enter the Region II Playoffs with some injuries, a factor not lost on Northam this season.
“Our team is confident after what we have gone through injury-wise. Our starting first baseman, starting center fielder and starting catcher all went down this year. When you have three of your guys go down, you realize that some key people are missing, and it isn’t the same team,” he said.
The Sea Lions will be going with Jared Askew as the starting pitcher in Friday’s game, but no firm decision has been made on a starter in Game 2.
“At this point, I’m not positive who will be starting on Tuesday,” Northam said. “We can bring some of our guys like Tony Kirbus and Johnny Lowe out of the bullpen on Friday and then give them enough rest for the Tuesday game. Then (we can) see who we are playing the next game and go back in history and see which guys match up the best,” Northam said.
PLNU will be making its second consecutive playoff appearance under Northam and will be making its seventh post-season appearance in the past eight years. Northam led PLNU to a 32-20 record last season. Before taking over as head coach, he served as an assistant (1984-1990) to Carroll Land and helped PLNU win three NAIA District 3 titles. The Sea Lions have won six regional championships (1985, 1986, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2004) and have made three World Series appearances (1993, 1994 and 2004).
Despite an injury-plagued regular season, Northam was pleased with the team’s mood.