Point Loma Nazarene swept a doubleheader Saturday in notable fashion as Dylan Miller closed it out by pitching his first career no-hitter.
Miller improved to 3-0, and struck out a career-high 11 as the first-place Sea Lions (15-1, 3-1 PacWest) stayed hot and beat Concordia (9-6-1, 3-1 PacWest) 13-0 in the second game at PLNU’s Carroll B. Land Stadium.
In the first game, they prevailed 5-2. For the day, Point Loma pitchers dominated, holding Concordia to three hits over 16 innings while striking out 26.
Miller, a sophomore, walked Eagle designated hitter Michael Dixon with two out in the first inning of the second game. That would be it for Concordia’s offense as the Coronado High grad retired the next 18 batters he faced in the seven-inning game, striking out at least one batter every inning.
The Sea Lions, with a 3-0 lead after the third, turned it into a rout the remainder of the way, scoring four runs the next inning and three each in the fifth and sixth.
DH Baxter Halligan ripped a two-run home run and had three RBIs for the game, as did Michael Pineiro, who launched a three-run homer in the fifth.
In the opener, Point Loma overcame an early two-run deficit after Halligan, this time on the mound, was tagged with an early homer.
The Sea Lions, though, scored one in the second and two in the third to take the lead.
Halligan also helped himself at the plate, driving in two. Easton Waterman added three hits in four at-bats.
Zach Veen relieved Halligan (4-1) in the sixth and struck out the side. while Cole Hillier stepped in in the eighth and ninth, striking out five of the six batters he faced to log his fifth save.
While the games are non-conference, both teams enter the series ranked in the Top 25 and the Top 10 of the West Region.
The Sea Lions and Eagles have the day off Sunday before concluding their series in Irvine with another doubleheader, beginning at 11 a.m. Monday.
