COSTA MESA, CALIF. -- David Ayala's 1-out double scored Karel Castro with an unearned run to give Azusa Pacific a 5-4 victory and GSAC doubleheader sweep at Southern California College Saturday afternoon.
Castro led off the eighth inning of a regularly-scheduled 7-inning game with a fly ball dropped by Vanguard left fielder Shaun Brewer. After a Cameron Radonich ground out moved Castro to second, Ayala then lined a 1-0 pitch to the wall, scoring Castro with the go-ahead run.
The thrills were far from over though. In the bottom of the eight, SCC loaded the bases with 1 out and was just 1 single away from a dramatic come-from-behind victory. However, Cougar ace Fritz Maskrey came out of the bullpen for the first time this season and struck out Kevin Mitchell and then induced pinch-hitter Eric Booth into easy ground out to preserve the win and pick up his first save since his 1996 freshman season.
Freshman pitcher B.J. Litchfield fired 3 innings of no-hit relief, striking out 4 and walking none, to pick up his first collegiate win.
Sophomore right fielder Erik Sampson was 2-for-2, which included a 2-run double to highlight a 3-run fourth-inning that gave Azusa Pacific a 4-2 lead at the time. However, SCC answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to knot the score at 4-4, setting up Ayala's extra-inning heroics.
In the first game, senior pitcher Jamey Stephens limited SCC to just 4 hits and struck out 7 Vanguards to lead Azusa Pacific to an 8-2 victory. Stephens, who picks up his first complete game since February, improves to a team-best 8-3 on the season. Senior 2B Grady Sain led the Cougar offense, going 2-for-5 with a double, a triple and 2 RBIs. He broke open a scoreless game in the fifth inning with a double that plated Ayala to give Azusa Pacific a short-lived 1-0 lead. SCC evened the scored in the bottom of the inning. However, the Cougars then scored at least 1 run in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings to pull away for the win.
The Cougars have now won 8 straight over SCC and 10 of the past 11.
The sweep guarantees Azusa Pacific a second-place finish in the GSAC and host site of a possible GSAC Playoff Series, May 6-7. However, if the Cougars sweep Cal Baptist next Friday in their final regular season games, and Concordia loses at least 1 game in its May 1 doubleheader at SCC, then Azusa Pacific earns an automatic bid into the NAIA West Regional Playoffs, May 12-15 in La Mirada, Calif., and avoids a GSAC Playoff Series.
