AZUSA, Calif. -- Senior second baseman Ryan Dowell knew he had some big shoes to fill, taking over the leadoff spot that had been occupied for 2 seasons by NAIA All-American first team shortstop Matt Venegas. So he did exactly what Venegas did in last year's season opener, smacking a solo home run to kick off a season-opening doubleheader sweep over Patten Thursday night, as the Cougars rolled to 24-1 and 7-2 wins.
"I watched Matt do it last year, and it's not like I was trying to do it, but he left the pitch up and I was able to put a good swing on it," Dowell said. "I was actually trying to get on top of the ball, and it just went out."
On display over the left-field fence was the Cougars' brand-new scoreboard, and the Azusa Pacific offense put the new hardware right to work by scoring the most runs in a season opener in program history. Dowell, who was homerless in 185 at-bats a year ago, was not only the first Cougar to light up the brand-new scoreboard with his leadoff solo home run, he drilled a second longball that slammed off the new scoreboard for a 2-run shot that gave the Cougars a 6-0 lead in the fourth inning of the nightcap.
"You have to have a good leadoff hitter to be a catalyst for the lineup," Cougar head coach Paul Svagdis said. "He's working really hard on having good at-bats for us, and that's what Matt Venegas did."
Junior third baseman Ryan Delgado, making his debut in the middle of a lineup that lost Kirk Nieuwenhuis in the third round of the 2008 MLB draft, smashed 4 home runs and drove in 9 runs from the cleanup spot in his Cougar debut.
"I'm glad he hit some (home runs) in some real games, because he's been doing that all the time in practice," said Svagdis. "He has the ability to hit the fastball and the breaking ball out of the yard, and he did both today. He also has a great attitude – if he has a bad at-bat, he doesn't take it out with him the next time."
Junior designated hitter Chris Feicht and freshman infielder Richie Brown each hit grand slams in the opening game, and junior first baseman Brice Cutspec hit solo homers in each game of the doubleheader. Cutspec moved into a tie for fourth on the Cougar career home runs list with 33.
Senior righthander Garrett Hodges earned the opening-day nod for the second straight season, and he delivered a complete-game 6-hitter, throwing 8 shutout innings before surrendering Patten's lone run with 2 outs in the top of the ninth on an infield single. Hodges threw 75 percent of his 87 pitches for strikes, and he struck out 5 without walking a batter.
In the nightcap, junior southpaw Peter Gehle struck out 5 in 5.1 innings of work, and senior righthander Christian Gagné picked up the save by fanning 4 more in the final 3.2 innings. Both of Patten's runs were unearned, thanks in part to 4 Cougar errors.
Junior catcher Anthony Delgado, Ryan's twin brother, went 5-for-6 with a double in the first game, 1 of 12 Cougars to record hits in the opener. Senior shortstop Shaun Lane went 4-for-6 and followed Brown's grand slam by knocking the very next pitch out of the park to right-center field, part of a 28-hit barrage that was Azusa Pacific's highest single-game hits total since a 31-run, 29-hit performance against Westmont in 2004. Senior leftfielder Stephen Gillette added a third-inning solo shot, moving into eighth in Cougar history with 29 career home runs, and he was 4-for-7 on the day.
With the sweep, Svagdis picked up his 200th career win at Azusa Pacific. The Cougars' skipper is now 200-112 as he begins his seventh season with the program, and his collegiate career coaching record stands at 322-219 in 13 seasons.
Azusa Pacific improves to 2-0, while Patten drops to 0-5, and the teams square off one more time on Friday at 11 a.m. The Cougars will also host Simpson University, a 2-1 winner over Biola Thursday in La Mirada, in a 3 p.m. contest.
