The 2017 version of the Point Loma baseball team is hungry for success. Just walking by members of the team you can feel the chip on their shoulder and the drive for success after missing the postseason last year, despite having a 32-16 record (21-13 PacWest). However, being left out of the postseason led to increased motivation throughout the team and coaching staff, and the Sea Lions put in many hours of hard work since the conclusion of last year to make sure the 2017 season is a special one. Practice
Coming off a competitive fall season, the Point Loma baseball team had a unique start to spring for them as for the first time in recent memory the Sea Lions had to deal with quite a bit of weather and rain.
“It’s not common and not something I’ve had to deal with since I’ve been here but we have fought through it and found our way to get our work in,” Point Loma head coach Joe Schaefer explained. “It’s given us some time to get into the classroom and talk through some things and make sure we’re all on the same page with what we’re trying to do offensively.” Lineup
The lineup should be one of the strengths of the Sea Lions this season as they feature one of their deepest offensive groups in years. Returning All-PacWest selections Harrison Ramey, Ryan Garcia, Kellen Sheppard, Mike Gordner and Colby Kaneshiro, join Matt Jervis once again in a starting lineup which averaged over 6.0 runs per game.
“Our offense is pretty good and pretty deep,” added Schaefer. “It is one of the better lineups we’ve put on the field in recent years. We’re getting a good chunk of our middle line up back so that helps. Having Ramey, Garcia, Gordner, Shepard and Kaneshiro in the middle of the lineup with a lot of experience from the past couple years is a good building block. We have a lot of left handed hitters which will help us quite a bit and were pretty strong throughout the middle and latter part of the lineup. I have high hopes for our team offensively.” Pitching staff
The Sea Lions’ pitching staff was the strength of the team last season with a 3.15 earned run average and a 1.20 WHIP. It ranked in the top 10 of four national pitching categories in NCAA Division II (walks, strikeout-to-walk ratio, WHIP and ERA), and they return their top 3 pitchers in the rotation. Kellen Sheppard was picked as the 2017 PacWest preseason co-Pitcher of the Year, and he is joined once again in the rotation by Kevin Lillicrop and Trevor Abshire. Stephen Young is slated to take over the No. 4 spot in the rotation. The bullpen will feature returners Noah Huggins, Patrick McMullen, Eric Pierce and John Thomas, along with a five new arms.
“I think we’re pretty good on the mound,” Schaefer said. “We have all of our top starting pitching back and we also Steven Young from Saddleback CC, who will most likely take the fourth spot. Our starting pitching is good and I like our bullpen depth. “We have a lot of older guys in the bullpen with a lot of experience both here and other schools. We have strike throwers and guys who have a lot of confidence, maturity, and experience. We don’t have the lights out stereotypical ‘closer’ but we have a lot of guys with experience and guts, so hopefully they can get it done.” Defense
The Sea Lions will return their starting infield from last season. Garcia is back at first base and Ramey at second, but Jervis slides over to shortstop as Kaneshiro remains at third. Gordner is also back behind the plate after catching all 48 games last season. However, the Sea Lions lost their entire starting outfield, but at least on the defensive side, coach Schaefer is not worried.
“Our outfield defense is going to be great,” Schaefer added. “There are a lot of new bodies out there that can cover ground. They all have a lot of arm strength and they communicate well. We have four, maybe five guys that should see a lot of time out there. Outfield defense will be strong and our infield defense will be very good as well. “We have a lot of very good defenders especially at the middle with getting Ramey back. Matt Jervis and Adam Rios will both get time at short and maybe third. We will have Colby Kaneshiro at third base as long as he is healthy and can play. Our infield defense will be good. Ryan Garcia had been a rock at first base for us for the past four years.” Strengths
Many members of the 2017 PLNU baseball team are in their fourth year as coach Schaefer turned his recruiting focus from the junior college ranks back to the high school level in 2013. This list includes six seniors that are four-year members of the team (Garcia, Sands, Jervis, Sheppard, Huggins, Lillicrop), and nine that have been with the team at least three seasons (Abshire, Pierce, McMullen).
“Age, experience, maturity (are our strengths),” said Schaefer. “The biggest strength for us now is the fact that a lot of these guys are seniors and have been doing this at a high level for the past four years playing every day. They’ve been in some dog fights and some postseasons. They’ve been through it all and they’re battle tested and ready to go. “I don’t think there is one thing we can do exceptionally well but there is a lot that of things that we do pretty well. I’d much rather have that type of team. Being able to score and having that kind of defense and having strong starting pitching with some experience in the bullpen all are strengths of this team.” Schedule
Coach Schafer knows that if the Sea Lions hope to return to the postseason they must compete against the top teams in the region, and that begins the first week of the season. PLNU will open up against Chico State, before facing No. 18 Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Dominguez Hills and No. 10 Colorado Mesa in non-conference play. PLNU, which was picked to place fourth in the PacWest in the preseason coaches’ poll, will also have 36 conference games on its schedule. “The schedule more than anything is a concern of this team,” Schaefer explained. “We have some tough teams to play right out of the gate. Even though everyone we’ve been playing has been dealing with the same thing, the weather has really affected us. Having to open with Chico and then Pomona week two; those are two really good teams. “I think this team is mature and battle tested so I think they can handle it. I think that will be the biggest challenge for us; finding out if we can we show up on day 1 and compete at a high level against one of the best in the country. Whatever happens in the first couple of weeks will bode well for this team moving forward, and in the rest of the season. We’d obviously like to get a couple wins under our belt in the first couple games against those good teams.
“We opened up with Chico State last year at their place and now we get them here at home which is nice,” continued Schaefer. “We want to play the best teams we can possibly play out of conference for many reasons. It helps us in terms of post season qualification but it also gives us the opportunity to be gaging where we’re at and see what we need to work on going into conference play. “We fully expect to be in dog fights every one of those games so learning how to win a close game against a good team, learning how to hold leads or extend leads against a good team, or have to come back against a good team are all very valuable things. As we get into conference play I fully expect to get into those kinds of games all year long. We want to get that kind of experience early in the season against teams that we think are going to be postseason teams, which will only help us and give us advantage later in the year.” Goals
Coach Schaefer does not hide the fact he has high expectations for the Sea Lions this year. He has confidence in their talent in the lineup and on the mound, and therefore has set out some lofty, but certainly achievable, goals for his team in 2017. “There are a lot of goals this season,” Schaefer explained. “This team is hungry to win a conference championship. Dixie State and Cal Baptist have had their grip on that the past few years but I think this team believes they’re more than capable of winning a conference championship. Especially the senior class that wants to go out as champions, and this team definitely has the potential and ability to win a conference championship, so that’s definitely a goal. “We want to get back to the postseason again and the tournament again. We want to do well, show well, and potentially make it to a world series. Those are a long way off but right now we want to win our first series. Right now our motto is to win the week, win the series. We want to find a way to win today and let tomorrow take care of itself. Winning the series against two good teams right off the bat is going to help this team reach our goals.” Keys
With those expectations and hopes laid out for the team, coach Schaefer mentioned some keys for his team to obtain those goals.
“We want to do everything in our power to get momentum early and keep momentum,” Schaefer said. “That’s a big part of our offense and our M.O. If we can get good starting pitching, grab momentum early, and capitalize on that then we will have a good shot.
“I also like the depth of our starting pitching and I think that our 1, 2, and 3 have a lot of experience in this conference as starting pitchers the past few years,” he continues. “I like our starting pitching against just about everyone else out there so that’s a great starting point. Having that kind of experience and maturity on the mound for us every day is a big deal. It makes us all feel we have a shot of winning on any particular day.” Conclusion
The talent is there, coach Schaefer’s four-year plan is in place, and now it is time to bring sides together to truly capitalize on what could be a special season by getting the Sea Lions back into the postseason.