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Azusa Pacific University Athletics

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10
Winner Chapman CU 7-4
9
Azusa Pacific APU 13-2
Winner
Chapman CU
7-4
10
Final
9
Azusa Pacific APU
13-2
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Chapman CU 2 1 0 1 1 1 3 1 0 10 15 1
Azusa Pacific APU 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 9 9 7

W: Anderson (1-0) L: Kelly, Ian (3-1) S: Semel (1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Joe Reinsch

Cougars Get Exactly What They Earn

AZUSA, Calif. -- The inconsistent play of the past several weeks finally caught up to Azusa Pacific, as the NAIA's No. 8-ranked Cougars couldn't escape the hole it created most notably from the season-high 7 errors it committed in a 10-9 loss to NCAA Division III's No. 2-ranked Chapman in non-conference action Monday night. With the loss, the Cougars' program-record home winning streak was snapped at 20 games.
 
Despite running up a 13-1 record to start the year, 5 wins short of last year's all-time best 1-loss start in program history, Azusa Pacific had come up notably short in several key areas over the past 2 weeks. Just 2 days earlier, the Cougars had survived an 0-for-20 performance from the top 5 hitters in the lineup in a 5-4 win over a San Diego Christian that is winless in GSAC play. In that game, the Cougars scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on an error that could have resulted in an inning-ending double play grounder up the middle.
 
Its inconsistent play finally caught up to the Cougars in the win column, as the 7 errors Azusa Pacific committed led to 5 unearned runs for a Chapman squad that rattled the Cougar pitching staff for an additional 15 hits. The fact that Azusa Pacific even had a tying run on base with a seasoned veteran hitter at the plate in the bottom of the ninth was remarkable considering that Chapman left another 15 runners on base throughout the contest.
 
Yet it was an overaggressive blunder on the bases that ended the contest, as senior second baseman Ryan Dowell broke for second on a ball in the dirt but was caught stealing when the Chapman catcher picked the pitch cleanly and gunned Dowell down by several steps to end the game. Senior leftfielder Stephen Gillette, the Cougars' leading hitter so far this season with a .432 average entering the game, was left standing at home plate with a 1-0 count, unable to even take the bat off his shoulder to try to keep the game alive.
 
The top 5 positions in the Azusa Pacific lineup combined to go 4-for-20 on the game, although 3 of the hits were home runs, just 2 days after the same 5 spots in the lineup went hitless in 20 at-bats in the 5-4 win over San Diego Christian.
 
Chapman had runners on base in every inning, eventually overcoming a 6-3 deficit with scoring in 5 consecutive innings. A fourth-inning leadoff error resulted in a run that cut the lead to 6-4, and the Panthers left 5 runners on base over the next 2 1-run innings that tied the game at 6-6. Then, Azusa Pacific surrendered all 3 seventh-inning runs on 2-out singles to fall behind by a 3-run margin at 9-6. Another 2-out single, a line-drive rocket down the third base line off the bat of Chapman catcher Matt Pearson, provided what turned out to be the game-winning run in the top of the eighth.
 
Senior shortstop Shaun Lane drilled a 3-run home run in the bottom of the eighth, cutting the lead to 10-9, but 3 of the final 5 Cougar hitters struck out before the final out was recorded on the bases.
 
The loss drops Azusa Pacific to 13-2 overall, while Chapman improves to 7-4 overall and remains unbeaten against 3 Golden State Athletic Conference foes. The Cougars wrap up a 6-game homestand on Wednesday, Feb. 25, when they host No. 16-ranked Fresno Pacific at 2 p.m. in a battle for second place in the GSAC between a pair of teams who each have just 1 conference loss to date.
 
 
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