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2
Azusa Pacific APU 31-14, 21-12 GSAC
4
Winner Westmont WC 15-29, 11-22 GSAC
Azusa Pacific APU
31-14, 21-12 GSAC
2
Final
4
Westmont WC
15-29, 11-22 GSAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Azusa Pacific APU 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 2
Westmont WC 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 X 4 11 2

W: CRABBE, T. (3-8) L: Gehle, Peter (5-3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Joe Reinsch

Road Struggles Continue For Cougars

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Westmont starter Tim Crabbe fired a complete-game 3-hitter to extend Azusa Pacific's road losing streak to 5 games with Thursday's 4-2 setback, which snapped the NAIA's No. 12-ranked Cougars' 17-game series winning streak over the Warriors.
 
After giving up an unearned first-inning run, Crabbe retired 19 straight Cougar batters, taking a 1-hitter into the eighth inning against Azusa Pacific, the GSAC leader in team batting average. Sophomore rightfielder Virgil Chavira drew a 4-pitch leadoff walk from Crabbe in the top of the eighth inning, and pinch-runner Carlos Maddox came all the way around the bases with a steal, a balk and senior shortstop Shaun Lane's run-scoring groundout to pull the Cougars to within 4-2.
 
Azusa Pacific twice brought the tying run to the plate in the final 2 innings, first with senior designated hitter Eddie Crespo's 2-out double down the left-field line in the eighth inning and then in the ninth with junior catcher Ryan Delgado's 1-out infield single. Both times, however, Crabbe induced inning-ending grounders to second base, including a game-ending double-play ball that sealed the Cougars' fate.
 
Crabbe walked just 2 batters and struck out 9, 3 of which came against Azusa Pacific's single-season and career home run record-holder Brice Cutspec, who went down swinging with runners on second and third with no outs in the top of the first inning.
 
The Westmont offense scored 3 of its 4 runs with 2 outs, including a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth when junior pitcher Peter Gehle fielded a swinging bunt but ran a tailing throw glancing off Cutspec's glove for what was charged as Gehle's throwing error. Two Westmont baserunners, who had advanced earlier in the at-bat to second and third on 1 of 2 Gehle balks, scored on the error to push Westmont's lead to 4-1.
 
Led by catcher Sam Wiley, who was 4-for-4 on the afternoon and hit a 2-out solo home run to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first inning, the Warriors hit safely in every inning and touched up the Cougar pitching staff for 11 hits.
 
With the loss, Azusa Pacific drops to 31-14 overall, 21-12 GSAC, while Westmont improves to 15-29 overall and 11-22 GSAC. The defeat drops Azusa Pacific out of second-place in the GSAC and into a tie for third with The Master's, 1 game ahead of fifth-place Biola.
 
The Cougars, who earlier Thursday were named 1 of the 9 campus hosts of the 2009 NAIA Baseball Championship Opening Round held May 12-15, finish the regular season with a Saturday, April 25 doubleheader at Biola followed by a return trip to Westmont on Tuesday, April 28. The Cougars will also host Cal State San Marcos at 5 p.m. on Monday, April 27, to make up a Feb. 17 non-conference rainout.
 
 
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