With only one-third of the regular season remaining for the Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) Sea Lions baseball team, players and coaches are fighting to turn around their season.
Now 10 weeks into the season, PLNU has notched a 16-16 record and the Sea Lions are 9-11 in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC).
“We are cautiously optimistic right now. We were ranked pretty high coming into the season,” said pitcher Robbie Naegele, a senior.
In 2007, PLNU posted an impressive 30-18 record, which included a 23-13 conference record.
The team was 21-9 at Carroll B. Land Stadium. As such, the Sea Lions began the 2008 campaign ranked No. 4 in the National Athletic Interscholastic Association (NAIA).
PLNU is coming off a difficult road trip at Azusa Pacific University (APU), during which it lost a double-header and allowed a total of 25 runs in the two games to their formidable conference rival.
“It was a pretty rough weekend and by the time we got to Azusa we were pretty tired,” Naegele said.
APU is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation and leads the conference in home runs with 50. PLNU is a distant second at 25. PLNU had played on the road against Vanguard University the previous day and won 5-3 but the 13-inning victory apparently took its toll on the pitching staff.
The high run total surrendered to APU by the Sea Lions pitching staff might have players thinking about the four departed starting pitchers from last season.
“Coming into this season we knew the pitching was going to be a big question mark but it we didn’t think there would be a lack of talent. None of our guys had much experience coming into this season,” Naegele said.
Longtime San Diego pitching coach John Gunther was hired to help get the young pitching staff up to speed to replace the graduated starters.
“Our pitching staff is improving and learning. We have a lot of young guys,” Gunther said.
Gunther has coached at the collegiate level across the San Diego area since 1972. His stops include Mesa College, San Diego State University, University of San Diego and most recently at the University of California, San Diego from 2003-06. “I thought this team had a lot of potential when I arrived but experience is a huge factor. We are taking our lumps right now and learning on the job,” Gunther said.
Next on the horizon for the Sea Lions is a home and away series against GSAC rival Concordia University in the first of 14 remaining conference games.
“The top six teams from the GSAC make the conference tournament and the winner can advance to the regionals. There isn’t much space between the 3rd- to 7th-ranked teams right now. We still think it is possible to make a run this season. There is still the rest of the season to play,” Naegele said.
Gunther is also remaining optimistic.
“I’m very pleased with our kids. They are working hard and everyone is improving but we aren’t as consistent yet. I have high hopes for the future,” Gunther said.