LEWISTON, Idaho -- Azusa Pacific pounded out 16 hits and used a 7-run outburst in the second inning to upset the NAIA's No. 2-ranked Lewis-Clark St. (Idaho), 11-5, in the opening game of a weeklong trip to Lewiston, Idaho.
It is the Cougars' first win over the 11-time and defending NAIA champions since upsetting then top-ranked L-C St., 6-3, in the opening round of the 1999 NAIA Far West Regional Playoffs. The loss is just the Warriors' seventh of the year (3 of them to NCAA Division I teams), and it is their worst loss to an NAIA team this campaign.
The Cougars strung together 5 consecutive singles, 4 of them RBI singles, after Matt Dzama reached first on one of the Warriors' 5 errors to lead off the second inning. Billy Gwinn then chased L-C St. starter Nic Puckett (4-1) with his fifth home run of the year, a 2-out, 2-run shot to left center for his only hit of the game.
Puckett came into the game having allowed just 2 earned runs in 40 innings (0.45 ERA) of work this year. He gave up 6 hits and 7 runs (4 earned) in just 1.2 innings and suffered his first loss of the campaign.
That outburst was more than enough for Cougar starter Derek Wholers (2-1), who tossed 6.1 strong innings on the hill, scattering 7 hits and allowing 3 earned runs. He struck out 4 and walked 4 and never allowed the Warriors to pose a threat.
After Wholers walked Paul Gallegos with one out in the seventh, he gave way to Joe Bitonti, who forced Jose Rodriguez into an inning ending double play. Bitonti gave up a 2-run homer in the bottom of the eighth before being lifted in favor of Mike Medlock, who forced Nick Browne to line into an inning-ending double play. Dzama slammed the door in the ninth, allowing just 1 hit. In all, the Cougar pitchers limited the Warriors' 1-4 hitters to just 2-for-18 on the night.
Ryan Marcos finished 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs, including an RBI single that scored Alex Valadez to give the Cougars an 8-2 advantage in the sixth. Valadez was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs.
The Cougars tallied another pair in the seventh on a bases loaded walk to Nick Mercado and an RBI groundout by Marcos to take a 10-3 lead. Dzama finished 2-for-5 and made it 11-3 with his team-leading ninth home run of the year to lead off the eighth.
Jake Haaker had 3 hits in 5 at-bats as every Cougar starter had at least 1 hit, and all of them factored into the Cougars' scoring with either a run or an RBI.
With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 22-17. Lewis-Clark St. drops to 26-7, and coupled with a 7-3 loss to Gonzaga (April 9) suffers its first back-to-back losses since dropping 3 straight to UC Riverside, San Jose St. and Hawaii midway through last season.
