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Azusa Pacific University Athletics

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7
Whittier WHC 2-5
8
Winner Azusa Pacific APU 10-1
Whittier WHC
2-5
7
Final
8
Azusa Pacific APU
10-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Whittier WHC 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 7 12 2
Azusa Pacific APU 0 3 2 0 2 1 0 0 X 8 9 2

W: Kelly, Ian (3-0) L: J. Armijo (0-2) S: Jones, Ben (3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Joe Reinsch

Cougar Pen Rewrites Poets' Script

AZUSA, Calif. -- A trio of Azusa Pacific relievers combined for 4 innings of 1-run, 3-hit relief, protecting what had been a 7-2 lead as the NAIA's No. 8-ranked Cougars held off Whittier Wednesday night in Azusa, 8-7.
 
Junior starter Ian Kelly, who nearly got himself out of his own bases-loaded first-inning jam unscathed and then retired Whittier's offense in order in 3 of the next 4 innings, surrendered 4 straight singles to start the sixth inning before he was lifted for junior righthander Ryan Rosenhahn. Rosenhahn didn't allow a ball out of the infield in his 2 innings of work, and the 1-run lead he protected went to 8-6 on a 2-out throwing error in the bottom of the sixth.
 
Whittier rallied again in the eighth off junior righthander Garrett Granitz, piecing together a run on a leadoff walk, stolen base, and consecutive infield groundouts, trimming Azusa Pacific's lead to 8-7 with 2 outs. Reed Tuttle's third hit of the game, a 2-out bunt single, kept the inning alive for the Poets, but sophomore rightfielder Virgil Chavira snuffed the rally when he gunned Tuttle down trying to reach third on Michael Benavente's single to right. Chavira's laser from right hit third baseman Ryan Delgadoin the chest well before Tuttle had begun his slide, and it was his second outfield assist of the night. In the fourth inning, Chavira nailed Whittier catcher Ryan Crawford by 15 feet at the plate, when Crawford tried to score from second on John Fugazi's 1-out single to right.
 
Senior righthander Ben Jones posted his third save of the season after firing a scoreless ninth. He issued a 1-out walk but struck out the next Whittier batter before inducing a game-ending grounder to senior shortstop Shaun Lane, whose strong throw on the run cut down Crawford at first for the final out. Kelly was the winning pitcher, improving to 3-0 on the season. He surrendered 2 unearned runs in the first inning, striking out back-to-back batters with the bases loaded before a 2-out error plated 2 Whittier runs. He then retired 12 of 15 batters over the next 4 innings before running into trouble again in the sixth.
 
Junior leftfielder Stephen Gillette homered for the second straight game, sending his fifth home run of the season on a screaming line drive over the right-field fence for a 3-run shot in the bottom of the second inning. His 3-run swing erased Azusa Pacific's early 2-0 deficit, and the Cougars added 2 runs each in the third and fifth innings, all on run-scoring doubles, to take a 7-2 lead. Senior centerfielder Drew Evans had 2 of the extra-base hits, knocking a 2-run double down the left-field line in the third inning before finding the left-center field gap for another RBI 2-bagger in the fifth following junior first baseman Brice Cutspec's 1-out RBI double down the left-field line.
 
Chavira led off the seventh with a single down the right-field line. After a sacrifice bunt moved him to second and a popout in foul territory threatened to strand him at second, Lane's infield single to the second baseman moved Chavira to third. However, an ill-advised throw to first sailed high, advancing Chavira the final 90 feet for what turned out to be the game-winning score.
 
With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 10-1 on the season, and the Cougars are back in action Thursday evening at 5 p.m. to take on The Master's College as Golden State Athletic Conference action resumes. The Master's dealt Azusa Pacific its only defeat of the season just over a week ago, a 3-1 decision in which all 3 Mustang runs were charged as unearned. Whittier, which took 2-of-3 games in a season-opening series with NCAA Div. III's No. 2-ranked Chapman, drops to 2-5 on the season.
 
 
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