Point Loma Nazarene baseball earned nine All-PacWest selections, tied with last year’s team for the most in program history as the Sea Lions begin the 2023 postseason.
The team (35-12 overall, 22-8 PacWest), bulging with award winners and seeded No. 1 in the PacWest Championships, easily brushed aside fourth-seeded Holy Names on Wednesday.
Powered by an 11-run third inning, PLNU cruised to a 14-3 win in Fresno. The team takes on No. 2 seed Azusa Pacific (32-17, 22-10 PacWest) at 3 p.m. Thursday.
The All Pac West total includes six First Team honorees, a new program record, and another PacWest Player of the Year.
First baseman Jakob Christian is the second-straight Sea Lion to take home the honor, after Baxter Halligan garnered it last season.
Christian was joined on the All-PacWest First Team by shortstop Scott Anderson, outfielder Jack Malone, DH Jake Entrekin, utility man Hunter Otjen and reliever Cole Hillier.
Starter Ray Cebulski and Otjen – as a reliever this time – were selected for the Second Team, while another starter, Dylan Miller, received a Third Team nod.
Christian has put together one of the finest offensive seasons ever by a Sea Lion, setting a single-season program record for home runs (24), which ranks second in NCAA Division II this year.
The sophomore leads the conference in home runs, RBIs (58), runs scored (57), OPS (1.379) and slugging percentage (.884). He is also third in the PacWest in hits (64) and on-base percentage (.495), while ranking fourth in batting average (.390).
His 58 RBIs entering the postseason are just five short of the single-season PLNU record. He got one against Holy Names to creep closer to the mark.
It’s the second straight All-First team selections for Christian and Hillier.
