Box Score AZUSA, Calif. – It was the perfect recipe of strong starter pitching with solid offense in the middle innings.

Playing their first game as a nationally ranked NCAA Division II team, the Cougars topped No. 17 UC San Diego 6-2 on Tuesday evening. Azusa Pacific entered the game ranked 22nd. 

"They are a very good team and one of the top teams in the region. It's great to play a team that is well managed that has that caliper of talent," head coach Paul Svagdis said. "I'm proud of the way we pitched today and when you do that you can hang around until the bats get going and that's what happened today."

During the early going the two starting pitchers dominated. Azusa Pacific's Josh Staumont struck out five through the first three innings without allowing a hit while UC San Diego's Dan Kolodin set the Cougars offense down in order through three.

After not allowing a runner through the first three innings, Kolodin committed an error that allowed Mitch Dergazarain to reach first. Two batters later Daniel Martin had the first hit of the game then both runners advanced an extra base on the play because of an error on the third baseman on the relay throw from the outfield. Two pitches later Dergazarain scored an unearned run on a wild pitch for the game's first run.

UC San Diego responded in the fifth inning when Steven Coe started the frame with a double down the left field line. After a sacrifice bunt advanced him to third. Coe crossed the plate when Gradeigh Sanchez singled him home on the next pitch.

The consecutive scoring trend continued in the bottom of the fifth. The Cougars (9-2) put a run on the scoreboard when Adrian Tovalin drove a Kolodin offering deep to right centerfield that scored Pablo O'Connor. Trying to get another run during the base knock on the play, Austin Shives was thrown out at home plate. Through five innings the Cougars had a 2-1 lead.

In the seventh inning Shives gave Azusa Pacific a bit of insurance with an RBI single through the middle that scored Ryan Santana – who started the inning with a double. Tovalin followed Shives at-bat with a double off the right field wall that plated Shives as the Cougars went in front 4-1. Refusing to end the stanza, Azusa Pacific scored another run when pitch hitter Sean Aspinall singled home Tovalin.

The Cougars scored their final run when Joe Huthsing doubled home Jordan Brower who worked a walk to get on base then stole second to reach scoring position.

UC San Diego (10-6) mounted a threat in the ninth inning. They scored when Jack Larsen took advantage of a Shives throwing error with one-out. The Tritons then loaded the bases but the bullpen duo of Jonny Reid and Billy Sanford recorded back-to-back strikeouts to secure the win.

Staumont went a season high six innings where he struck out nine and allowed just two hits while walking a season low three batters. 

"He did a great job. Most importantly he walked just three guys in six innings which was an improvement from last week. He worked in the zone quite a bit today and when he did miss it was by small margin. His last inning was the cap of the day when he shut them down after he got the one-run lead," Svagdis said.

Offensively Tovalin and Shives each had two hits to help pace the Cougars. 

Azusa Pacific begins PacWest play with a four-game set this weekend at Academy of Art that begins on Friday at 4:00 p.m.