The Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) softball team ” ranked No. 2 by the National Athletic Interscholastic Association (NAIA) ” captured its third consecutive sweep with fresh victories over Cal State San Marcos on Tuesday.
The Sea Lions previously swept the Royals from Hope International University (18-22, 4-14) this weekend by scores of 8-0 and 9-2.
The string of sweeps makes Point Loma Nazarene 14-4 in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) and 35-7 overall.
“Statistically, I think we are better this year than last year. Our pitching is strong, but the difference between last year and this year is that our defense has improved, especially the middle infield,” said PLNU softball head coach Dave Williams.
The sweeps cap a dominating performance by the Sea Lions as they pounded Azusa Pacific University, Hope International and now Cal State San Marcos by outscoring the opponents by a total of 46-3 over the last six games.
During the games against San Marcos, senior Amanda Addie broke the PLNU school record of 169 stolen bases previously held by current PLNU softball assistant coach Cheryl Bolding (Schaefer).
“I started stealing bases in my freshman year but I didn’t really have my sights on the record until midway through my sophomore year,” Addie said.
Addie trails the all-time NAIA stolen-base record by four.
“She is our lead-off hitter and is hard to stop once she gets on base. Addie is possibly one of the fastest players in the country. She gets out of the box so quickly that any throw that bounces twice, she’ll be reach base on,” Williams said.
Addie’s been able to set the table early for the Sea Lions offense by getting on base consistently with a .475 batting average (58 hits in 122 at-bats).
“Stealing bases is something that comes naturally to me. My coach tells me to go, and I go. Our No. 2 hitter Erica Ricker does a great job of protecting me,” Addie said.
In addition to Addie, the Sea Lions lineup is loaded with outstanding hitters this season. “We have about five different players at or closing in on 30 runs batted in (RBI) this year that have been driving in runs on a regular basis,” Williams said.
Melissa Gomez is second on the team with a .451 average and 34 RBI, Kayla Luttmer is batting .403 with 27 RBI, Paige Powell is hitting .371 with 29 RBI, Ricker is batting .345 with 27 RBI and Jill Schaefer has 26 RBI with an average of .309.
“We also have about five base stealers who can steal anytime,” Williams said.
This year’s Sea Lions team appears to be even stronger than the 2007 team that finished 45-12, 18-6 in the GSAC and lost to Oklahoma City 7-2 in the NAIA Championship. Success is nothing new for the PLNU softball program since Williams’ arrival in 1998.
He has guided the Sea Lions to three conference titles in 2002, 2003 and 2004, three Region II titles in 2001, 2003 and 2004 and appearances in the Regional Finals 7 times. His teams have posted an overall record of 426-145 and a GSAC record of 176-64 coming into this season.
The Sea Lions will close the regular season with doubleheaders against GSAC rivals Concordia, Biola and Vanguard before the NAIA Region II playoffs start on May 6.
“Our team is playing stronger this year going into the playoffs than last year. Thanks to our strong training program, every year our team really kicks it in to another gear when we hit about 100 at-bats,” Williams said.