Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Half for us. Half for them.
The key four-game set between the two teams was split and leaves both squads in a similar boat down the stretch. Each team is chasing down not only PacWest leader Dixie State, they are dueling for a spot in the six-team NCAA West Region Championship. The first regional rankings will be released on Wednesday, April 22. The region encompasses schools from the GNAC, CCAA and PacWest.
Azusa Pacific's record now stands at 27-15 overall and 17-11 in PacWest games. The Lancers move to 25-17 and 17-7 respectively.
Game One – California Baptist 8, Azusa Pacific 4
The Cougars pounded out 11 hits but had their offense dip with runners on base. Azusa Pacific left 12 men on base as they went 3-for-19 with runners on the base paths. Conversely the Lancers were a bit more opportunistic as they recorded five hits in their 15 at-bats with runners on base as they left just five men on base.
Ryan Santana had a solid game at the dish as the leftfielder went 3-for-5 with a pair of homeruns. The senior scored twice and drove home three runs.
California Baptist jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first inning. During their first offensive go round, the Lancers sent eight men to the plate as they tallied three hits. Stephen Lohr highlighted the frame with a two-run, one-out single.
Azusa Pacific got a run back in the third inning when Blake James scored on a wild pitch with two outs. However, the Lancers responded with two more runs in the bottom half of stanza when Nathan Antoun hit a two-out single to centerfield that scored two while chasing Cougars starting pitcher Wyatt Wood from the game.
Santana hit his first homerun to lead off the eighth inning which trimmed the Lancers lead to 7-2 but the Cougars couldn't get another run across the plate. California Baptist scored their final run on a Bryce Macy RBI single with two-outs. The final runs for the Cougars came with two-outs as Santana hit his second big fly of the game down the right field line in the ninth inning.
Daniel Martin and Pablo O'Connor, who extended his reached base streak to 11 games, each had two hits.
David Herd upped his record to 4-1 by striking out seven in six innings of work. He scattered seven hits and allowed just one run.
Game Two – Azusa Pacific 5, California Baptist 3
Despite falling behind early the Cougars earned a critical split with the help some timely hitting and a solid effort from the bullpen.
California Baptist went up 3-1 and got into the Azusa Pacific bullpen after three innings. However, a resilient Cougar effort ensued. Azusa Pacific tied the score with a pair of two-out runs in the fourth inning. Blake James singled home Pablo O'Connor then Adrian Tovalin took a 3-2 pitch to the leftside of the infield that scored James.
With the score knotted at 3-3, Azusa Pacific took the lead when Joe Hutshing reached on a fielding error by the third baseman which allowed Mitch Dergazarian to score.
In the sixth inning the Cougars added to their 4-3 lead when Adrian Tovalin hit his sixth homerun of the season; a solo shot to centerfield. Azusa Pacific nearly added another run in the frame but Mitch Dergazarian was thrown out at home trying to score on a Jordan Brower flyout.
During the Azusa Pacific rally Jonny Reid came on in relief to throw 2.2 innings where he struck out two in his 34-pitch effort. The Cougars turned to closer Josh Grajeda to finish the game. The righthander struck out two in earning the two-inning save.
Dergazarian and Tovalin each pounded out two hits. Dergazarian scored twice while Tovalin had two RBIs while scoring an additional run.
