Box Score AZUSA, Calif. – The visitors effort was just enough.
Fresno Pacific squeaked out a 4-3 win on Wednesday evening in the first a four-game series with Azusa Pacific. The Sunbirds also narrowly outhit the home team (9-8) in the tightly played contest.
While each team plays in the PacWest, the four-game set will not count towards the conference standings. These are the final games of the regular season for both teams. Azusa Pacific is battling for a spot in the NCAA West Regional Championships; they are currently ranked third in the region with the top six spot qualifying for the championships. The Sunbirds are in their final year of transitioning for NAIA to NCAA Division II status.
Earlier this season the Sunbirds (32-15) took three of four during their March conference series in Fresno.
In Wednesday's win, Michael Tittle drove-in two runs in four at-bats while Preston Scott recorded a 2-for-4 effort while scoring twice.
Azusa Pacific's Daniel Martin had a 2-for-4 evening at the dish with a run scored. Ryan Santana drove home two runs.
Fresno Pacific broke their offensive silence with back-to-back hits to start the fourth inning. Steven Lozier recorded the Sunbirds first hit with a one-out single. Michael Tittle took the very next offering from Cougar starting pitcher Josh Staumont over the scoreboard in left centerfield.
After allowing four base runners in the first three innings, Fresno Pacific hurler Jake Martinez settled-in as he held the Cougars (29-18) off the base paths in innings four and five. But the right hander's magic ran out in the sixth inning as Martin led off the frame with a double then, two batters later, Santana smashed his seventh homerun of the season onto Alosta Avenue over the right field fencing.
The Sunbirds threatened in the seventh inning as they put runners on second and third with one out. After Dillion Miyashiro got the frame's second out on line drive caught by third baseman Adrian Tovalin, Fresno Pacific was able to push across those two runs as Michael Tittle lifted a high fly ball to the wall in right field as Mitch Dergazarian nearly made a circus but couldn't as the ball fell to the ground.
Azusa Pacific shrugged off the 4-2 deficit during their next opportunity. The Cougars got one run back when pitch hitter Michael Staudinger singled home Tovalin, who started the inning with a fly ball double the centerfielder lost in the evening dusk. The Cougars then had runners on second and third with no outs but couldn't cash-in on the opportunity.
The Cougars threatened in the eighth and ninth innings as they put the leadoff batter on base but they couldn't get the runner into scoring position on either occassion.
During the game Staumont recorded his 100th strikeout of the season. He is the first Azusa Pacific pitcher to hit the milestone in a season since Scott Hodson fanned 116 in 2007. The righthander, who leads the NCAA in strikeouts per nine innings, struck out six in 6.0 innings of work where he allowed four hits but didn't factor into the decision.
Jake Martinez earned the win for the Sunbirds by going 6.0 innings and striking out three and scattering eight hits. Tanner Irwin worked the final three innings to earn his seventh save.
