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Azusa Pacific University Athletics

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5
Winner Azusa Pacific APU 33-16, 22-14 GSAC
4
Westmont WC 16-31, 12-24 GSAC
Winner
Azusa Pacific APU
33-16, 22-14 GSAC
5
Final
4
Westmont WC
16-31, 12-24 GSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Azusa Pacific APU 2 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 5 10 1
Westmont WC 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 4 9 1

W: Gehle, Peter (6-3) L: SKERSIES, K. (2-7) S: Jones, Ben (4)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Joe Reinsch

Getting Used To Life On The Road

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific turned its fortunes on the road around with a 5-4 win over Westmont in Tuesday's regular-season finale, snapping a 7-game road losing streak heading into next week's trip to San Diego for the GSAC Postseason Tournament.
 
The Cougars, who led for just 1 inning combined over all of the previous 6 road games, took control from the opening batter, scoring a pair of first-inning runs en route to the early lead. After Westmont tied the game at 2-2 in the third inning, Azusa Pacific answered in its next at-bat to take the lead for good and hang on for the crucial road win. The Cougars finish the regular season 33-16 overall, and their 22-14 GSAC finish ties them with The Master's for fourth place in the final conference standings.
 
Junior lefthander Peter Gehle gave the Cougars his third straight quality start, scattering 3 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits with 7 strikeouts in 6 innings. Senior righthander Garrett Lebsock bridged the gap between Gehle and closer Ben Jones by holding the Warriors to 1 run on 2 hits in the seventh, and Jones slammed the door with an impressive 2-inning save. It was his third straight shutout appearance of 2 or more innings and his first save since Feb. 18. It was the first save for any Cougar pitcher since Garrett Granitz tossed the final 4 scoreless innings of Azusa Pacific's 11-3 March 7 win over Westmont.
 
Senior designated hitter Eddie Crespo got the offense rolling from the leadoff spot, opening the game with a double to left-center and scoring on sophomore rightfielder Virgil Chavira's sacrifice fly to right field. Junior first baseman Brice Cutspec started a 3-for-4 afternoon with a single to right that pushed senior third baseman Ryan Dowell from first to third, and Dowell scored on junior catcher Ryan Delgado's sacrifice fly to left.
 
Westmont pulled to within 2-1 on Taylor Grace's 2-out single in the bottom of the third, and Grace eventually scored an unearned run to tie the game at 2-2 on a third-strike passed ball to Mark Boujikian. Gehle induced an inning-ending popup to preserve the tie game, and Cutspec led off the fourth with a double down the left-field line. Senior centerfielder Drew Evans moved Cutspec to third with a 1-out single, and leftfielder Stephen Gillette brought Cutspec home for the go-ahead run with a  grounder to shortstop.
 
Senior shortstop Shaun Lane's leadoff double an inning later put him in scoring position for Chavira's 1-out RBI single that pushed the lead to 4-2. Westmont responded with back-to-back hits in the bottom of the fifth, putting Gehle in a tough spot with runners at first and third with no outs. The junior southpaw traded 2 outs for the single run, inducing a double-play groundout to shortstop before another groundout to Lane that ended the inning with the Cougars' lead still intact.
 
Crespo led off the seventh with his second hit of the game, a single through the right side, and Cutspec brought him home for an important insurance run. His 1-out RBI single to center gave Azusa Pacific a 5-3 lead, an advantage that lasted just 5 pitches into the bottom of the seventh when Taylor Maddox homered to left off Lebsock to pull the Warriors back to within a run at 5-4.
 
In addition to Cutspec's 3-for-4 effort, Crespo and Lane each added 2-for-4 performances for the Cougars, who chased Westmont starter Kellen Skersies from the game in the fifth inning after scoring in 3 of the first 5 frames.
 
The Azusa Pacific win was the final game at Westmont's Russ Carr Field in its current configuration before demolition begins to make room for construction of the Warriors' new baseball facility. Westmont ends its season with a final overall record of 16-31, and the Warriors finished 12-24 in GSAC play. Westmont finished 8 games ahead of last-place San Diego Christian and just 1 game behind eighth-place Vanguard, marking the first time since 2001 that Westmont has not finished last in the conference.
 
 
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