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SAN DIEGO -- Justin Lawrence tossed six innings and Tyler Nordgren went 4-for-5 with five RBI as Point Loma Nazarene opened the 2012 baseball season Wednesday with a 9-3 win over Simpson at Carroll B. Land Stadium.
 
The Sea Lions picked up all the runs they would need in the bottom of the first inning. Point Loma sent nine batters to the plate and pushed across four runs, though the team had just two hits.

Lucas DiCiccio got the ball rolling with a two-out infield hit that scored Tyler Hanzawa. The big blast then came off the bat of Nordgren who laced a double off the left center fence for three runs.
 
Lawrence cruised through the first three innings, setting down all nine of the batters he faced. The junior transfer from Mesa College ran into some trouble in the fourth, however, and yielded three runs, though only one was earned.
 
PLNU tacked on a run in the bottom of the fifth when Nordgren singled home Clinton Harwick who had reached earlier on a hit by pitch and advanced to second with a stolen base.
 
The Sea Lions strung together some quality at-bats in the seventh with Eddie Roberts, Marcus Heisner and Hanzawa each driving in a run.
 
Nordgren plated Brian Burkhead with a single for Point Loma's final run of the day in the eighth.
 
Lawrence (1-0) earned the win after yielding three runs (one earned) on three hits. The righty fanned eight batters in his first Point Loma start. Jack Archie entered the game in the seventh and tossed three scoreless frames to earn the save.

“I'm pretty excited about getting the first one,” said PLNU Coach Joe Schaefer.  “As in every year, there are some jitters to work through; especially this year with so many new players on the field.  I thought Justin Lawrence threw a very good game.  He attacked the strike zone and didn't allow many free baserunners.” 
 
Suffering the loss was Joshua Weise (0-1) who allowed five runs – one earned –in his three inning start. The Redhawks (0-2) utilized three pitchers on the day, all of whom were scored upon.
 
Other than Nordgren, the only other player with more than one hit Wednesday was Simpson backstop Matthew Alton who went 3-for-5 with two RBI.
 
"Offensively, we have a lot to work on and get better at, but we will definitely get there," said Schaefer. "The at bats will improve as we get a few more games under our belts.  The main thing I want to get fixed over the next couple games are the mistakes."

Schaefer continued, "We executed late in the game, but early in the game we left too many scoring opportunities out there.  Any win is a good one, and I am happy these guys got the first one under their belts.  Now we can relax a little tomorrow and improve on some of the offensive things."

The same two squads will meet on Thursday with the first pitch scheduled for 2:00 pm.