Last weekend, Point Loma Nazarene University faced the Northwest Nazarene University Nighthawks in the NCAA Division II Super Regionals. The Sea Lions swept the Nighthawks to advance to the World Series in Cary, North Carolina.
PLNU has boasted one of the best Division II baseball programs in the country for the better part of a decade. Though they haven’t won the NCAA World Series yet, the team has made it to the championship in two of the last four years.
The Sea Lions competing in the NCAA DII Baseball Championship. Photo by Lincoln Zdunich/The Point.
This year has been no different. PLNU boasts a 47-11 record in the 2026 season (37-7 in their conference). That’s been due to an all-around effort from the team. The offense has a combined .330 batting average and .945 OPS. Starting pitchers Devin Norton and Derek Silva have looked great, pitching to respective 2.20 and 3.53 ERAs.
But beyond any statistical analysis, beyond all the wins and success, is something more. This team has fight in them, a belief that they’re going to get the job done no matter what.
Nowhere was that fight more present than in their final game against Cal State-San Bernardino in the NCAA West Regional. In a 10-inning nailbiter, the Sea Lions eked out a 10-9 victory over San Bernardino on a 10th-inning single by catcher Tommy Molina. It was the difference maker in a game where the lead shifted four separate times, sending them to the Super Regionals.
Facing their sister school, Northwest Nazarene University, in the Super Regionals, the Sea Lions had a chance to make it to the NCAA DII World Series for the third time in team history. They got off to a terrific start, winning Game 1, 5-3.
It was an all-around effort in another back-and-forth contest, but pitcher Derek Silva dominated. The righty gave up only three runs across eight innings pitched, striking out 10. Silva was a workhorse, throwing 121 pitches while displaying solid command and surrendering just four walks.
“[I] treat it like any other start,” Silva said. “[I was able] to control what I could control and everything was working.”
With a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning, Silva gave up a two-run homer to allow NNU to tie the game. It seemed like they might add on with no outs after the home run, but Silva recorded three efficient outs following it.
With the score still tied in the bottom of the fourth inning, center fielder Jack Ryan took starting pitcher Dillon Eden deep, slugging a go-ahead home run. It was a lead that the Sea Lions wouldn’t relinquish, tacking on one more run for good measure in the fifth inning.
“They did a great job,” Justin James, the Seal Lions’ head coach, said about the team’s surging offense. “They got good pitches to hit and we limited our chase.”
With the win in Game 1, Point Loma put pressure on the Nighthawks in Friday’s game. A win for the Sea Lions in Game 2 would sweep the series for PLNU, sending them to the World Series.
When asked what a win in Game 1would mean for the team’s energy in Game 2, assistant coach Jack Gonzales was adamant.
“Nothing changes,” Gonzales said. “We’ve just got to go out and play good baseball and let the rest take care of itself.”
The Sea Lions carried that mentality into Game 2, winning with a dramatic three-run eighth inning. With the bases loaded for the second time in the game, Tristan Moore came to the plate and delivered a two-out, two-run single to right field.
However, it was ace pitcher Devin Norton who was the star of the show. After posting a sterling 2.20 ERA in the regular season, Norton pitched into the eighth inning in Friday’s finale. He allowed two solo shots and struggled with command before being lifted for reliever Hank Smith in the eighth inning.
“[My] slider was playing a lot. Sticking to my heights,” Norton said. “I tell myself all the time I’m the best player in the world, I just have to act like it.”
Norton certainly acted like it. He struck out nine and allowed just one other hit, walking three batters. The Sea Lions couldn’t find an offensive groove for most of the game and would have been hard-pressed to make a comeback if Norton hadn’t pitched as well as he did.
That being said, after inheriting the jam, Smith struggled. With runners on second and third, he threw a wild pitch, allowing a run to score to put the Nighthawks within one run of Point Loma. After that he walked the next batter.
Thankfully, Smith was able to induce an inning-ending double play to preserve the lead. James was frank regarding the situation.
“We made our own luck,” James said. “And you need that to be in the position that we’re in.”
PLNU was able to close out the game after Ryan’s second homer of the series put them up 6-3 in the ninth inning. The Sea Lions have punched their ticket to the NCAA DII World Series for the third time in five years (2022, 2024, 2026).
“Beyond excited for these guys,” James said. “[We] put them through a lot of stuff, a lot of hard work and hours and details. This is why we do it. This whole group has been amazing and amazingly easy to manage.”
PLNU has yet to bring home a national championship, falling short in both of its previous World Series appearances. If the Sea Lions can finally break through this season, they’ll cement themselves among the premier programs in NCAA Division II baseball history.
Cade Michaelson