San Diego Christian College baseball gains at-large berth to NAIA Nationals

It may hurt to lose, yet taking the road less traveled — as mentioned in Matthew 7:13-14 — has been a path to past success for San Diego Christian College.

In 1990, the Hawks men’s basketball team lost in the NAIA regional final, yet was invited to the National Christian College Athletic Association championship in Chattanooga, Tenn., winning the school’s first national crown in any sport.

It may hurt to lose, yet taking the road less traveled — as mentioned in Matthew 7:13-14 — has been a path to past success for San Diego Christian College.

In 1990, the Hawks men’s basketball team lost in the NAIA regional final, yet was invited to the National Christian College Athletic Association championship in Chattanooga, Tenn., winning the school’s first national crown in any sport.

This spring, SDCC’s baseball team is in a similar predicament.
Over the weekend, the Hawks advanced to the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament title game, but The Master’s College turned a 4-3 nail biter into an automatic berth to nationals with a grand slam in the 8th inning of an 8-3 title-game victory.

Still, waiting nervously over the weekend, the Hawks received good news when the NAIA Baseball Tournament Committee offered the school its first-ever at-large berth to the nationals.

“It means a lot to the program as a whole because we are walking on ground we have not walked before. It takes a lot to build a program and we are seeing the fruits of doing in the Lord’s way,” said head coach Chris Bando. “We have a lot of character as a team and it has shown in the manner in which we have won.”
“Although we lost the (GSAC) title game, the program has come a long way and it says a lot about the godly character of our players. “

San Diego Christian, which finished their best regular season ever with a 37-18 record, welcomed the reprieve. Thus, they will return to The Master’s, which will host today’s opening round of the NAIA National Baseball Champions.

The Hawks, the No. 3 seeds, will tangle with No. 2 Cal State San Marcos, a ballclub that SDCC swept in three straight ballgames back in March when the Cougars were the third-ranked ballclub in the country.
“We are excited for the players to be able to have the opportunity to participate in the national tournament,” added Bando. “This is especially exciting for the players who have been here for 2-4 years and have taken their lumps. To be only a few wins away from an NAIA College World Series birth is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
“We started the season a little slow offensively but were able to turn it around to lead the GSAC in hitting. We have a good lineup from one through nine. Also, with being third in the NAIA in fielding percentage and having a pitching staff that keeps us in games, we have won playing fundamental baseball and with execution at key times. “

In the GSAC finale against the Mustangs (40-15), SDCC built an early, but failed to hang on after Brett Piper beat them on his grand slam to left field.