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Azusa Pacific University Athletics

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5
Winner Biola BU 13-11, 7-5 GSAC
4
Azusa Pacific APU 21-4, 11-3 GSAC
Winner
Biola BU
13-11, 7-5 GSAC
5
Final
4
Azusa Pacific APU
21-4, 11-3 GSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Biola BU 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 13 0
Azusa Pacific APU 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 4 10 2

W: CORONADO (0-0) L: Gehle, Peter (0-0) S: VOPINEK (7)

4
Biola BU 13-12, 7-6 GSAC
6
Winner Azusa Pacific APU 22-4, 12-3 GSAC
Biola BU
13-12, 7-6 GSAC
4
Final
6
Azusa Pacific APU
22-4, 12-3 GSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Biola BU 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 4 12 0
Azusa Pacific APU 4 0 0 0 2 0 X 6 11 1

W: Granitz, Garrett (2-0) L: ALBERT (1-5)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Joe Reinsch

Cougars Settle For A Split Second

AZUSA, Calif. -- The NAIA's No. 8-ranked Azusa Pacific suffered a rare home defeat, dropping the opener of a GSAC doubleheader with Biola Saturday, 5-4, before salvaging a split with a 6-4 win in the nightcap. The defeat was the first at home in conference play for the Cougars since April 10, 2008, and it is just the sixth loss in 53 home games over the past 2 seasons.
 
The split also drops Azusa Pacific out of a tie for first place in the conference standings, as the 3-way tie for the lead with The Master's and Point Loma Nazarene was neatly separated into 3 spots a game apart, thanks to Point Loma Nazarene's doubleheader sweep over The Master's.
 
Juniors Chris Feicht and Ryan Delgado hit 2 home runs each on the day, and Delgado batted 6-for-7 with 3 runs and 3 RBIs on the day. Junior righthander Garrett Granitz finished both games on the mound, keeping the Cougars within striking distance with 2 scoreless frames in the opener before firing another 2.1 scoreless innings to pick up the win in relief in the nightcap.
 
Biola scored the first 5 runs of the opening game, and the Eagles did all their offensive damage in the first 4 innings before Azusa Pacific's offense responded with Delgado's solo smash to left-center in the bottom of the fourth. Feicht hit a 2-run homer in the seventh to trim the lead to 5-3, and he slammed a 2-out solo shot an inning later to pull the Cougars to within a run at 5-4. However, Biola closer Billy Vopinek fired a 1-2-3 ninth inning to preserve the Eagles win and post his GSAC-leading seventh save of the year.
 
Senior leftfielder Eddie Crespo's leadoff single to left-center in the bottom of the first of the nightcap sparked a 4-run outburst, and the Cougars sent 9 batters to the plate in the opening frame. Junior first baseman Brice Cutspec brought home the first score with a sacrifice fly to right field, and Feicht doubled to left-center 2 batters later to plate 2 more. Senior centerfielder Drew Evans hit a 2-out RBI double on Biola starter Brian Albert's 3-1 offering to round out the opening-inning assault.
 
Hawkins Gebbers' 2-out RBI single to left tied the game at 4-4 against Game 2 starter Ben Jones, bringing Granitz out of the bullpen in the top of the fifth to slam the door on Biola once more. He got the final out of the fifth on an infield groundout, and he kept the Eagles scoreless over the next 2 innings after Delgado hammered Albert's 0-1 offering over the left-field fence with plenty of room to spare to give the Cougars a 6-4 lead with no outs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
 
With the split, Azusa Pacific is now 22-4 overall, 12-3 GSAC, while Biola is now 13-12 overall, 7-5 GSAC. The Cougars visit California Baptist Thursday, March 19 at 3 p.m., in what was scheduled to wrap up the first half of the 36-game conference schedule. However, due to the rainout that pushed Azusa Pacific's GSAC-opening doubleheader at Point Loma Nazarene back to April 9, the Cougars will hit the halfway point of the conference slate when they host Point Loma for a noon doubleheader on Saturday, March 21.
 
 
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