AZUSA, Calif. -- The NAIA's No. 8-ranked Azusa Pacific picked up right where it left off yesterday, following up its 31-run production in yesterday's doubleheader with 33 more in a pair of wins over Patten University and Simpson University Friday.
"For the last 4 games, the hitters have done a good job taking care of their hitting plan," Cuogar head coach Paul Svagdis said. "We had that point in yesterday's second game where we lost sight of that, where we got a little over-anxious, but for the most part, our hitters have done a good job of going inning by inning as a group. I'm hoping they can understand that this is a fickle game, that you can have a great plan every day and you still just have to grind out runs at times."
Junior first baseman Brice Cutspec hit a pair of 2-run home runs, sparking a 5-run first inning and capping a 10-run second that helped the Cougars to a 19-1 victory over Patten in the first game of the day.
"Yesterday, we got into a little lull and might have taken a few innings for granted," Cutspec said. "We have to realize that we have to play hard, no matter who's out there, no matter what the score is. We have to have the same attitude and the same approach to the game every inning."
Junior third baseman Ryan Delgado, who hit 4 home runs in yesterday's doubleheader, smashed 2 more in the nightcap, a 14-3 victory over Simpson University. Delgado's 3-run shot opened the scoring in a 6-run first, and his 2-run shot in the seventh resulted in the walk-off victory due to the 10-run rule.
For the second straight day, Azusa Pacific led every inning of both games. The Cougars sent 24 batters to the plate in the first 2 innings against Patten, scoring all 5 runs with 2 outs in the first inning when 6 straight batters reached safely. In the second inning, 6 of the Cougars' 10 runs came with 2 outs, capped with Cutspec's 2-run shot to right that pushed the lead to 15-0.
Junior righthander Ian Kelly made his second career start, and he tossed 5 scoreless innings to pick up his first career win. Kelly struck out 5 and scattered 4 hits, and senior Ben Jones struck out 5 in a 4-inning save. Shortstop Todd Stiles, a junior-college transfer from Waukee, Iowa, went 3-for-4 with a double in his first start as a Cougar.
The Cougars got off to a quick start again against Simpson. Leadoff man Ryan Dowell drilled the 1-1 fastball he saw from Simpson's 6-foot-10 starter Josh Graves right back up the middle, off Graves' throwing shoulder to third baseman A.J. Contreras, who beat Dowell by a step with a barehanded pickup and throw on the run. However, the next 7 Cougars reached safely, starting with senior rightfielder Eddie Crespo's single and a hit-batsman taken by junior designated hitter Anthony Delgado that set up Ryan Delgado's 3-run shot to left-center.
Cutspec drew a 4-pitch walk, and senior centerfielder Drew Evans was hit by pitch before senior leftfielder Stephen Gillette's RBI single was followed by junior catcher Chris Feicht's 2-run double down the left-field line pushed the lead to 6-0. Graves retired the next 2 batters and ended up lasting 3 innings before giving way to a pair of Simpson relievers.
"(Our team) didn't quite show up ready to play this morning," Svagids said, "so we had a little heart-to-heart talk, and they got their legs stretched out a lot sooner than they thought they would before 18 innings of baseball.
"They were held accountable to how they came prepared today, and I was impressed with the maturity of this group. They took their accountability like responsible men. Even though that could have set us back today, they came out and made no excuses and played 16 innings after playing 18 yesterday."
Senior reliever Garrett Lebsock earned the win, tossing 3 innings of scoreless 1-hit relief with 5 strikeouts. Ryan Delgado and Cutspec registered 3 hits apiece in the second game, and Stiles hit a 3-run home run with 2 outs in the sixth to give Azusa Pacific a 12-3 lead.
With the victories, Azusa Pacific improves to 4-0 on the season. Patten is now 0-6, and Simpson drops to 1-2. The Cougars will host 2 more non-conference games against Dixie State (Utah) on Feb. 2 and 3 before opening Golden State Athletic Conference play with a Feb. 7 doubleheader at Point Loma Nazarene.
