Box Score WALNUT, Calif. – If the second act of the play is as good as the first, Azusa Pacific could be enjoying an extended postseason stay.
In their first playoff appearance as an NCAA Division II member the Cougars recorded a 17-11 win against UC San Diego on Thursday evening.
The Cougars showed why they have one of the most stout offensives in the region as they scored at least 10 runs for the 15th time this season. Their 19 hits marked the 26th occasions they banged a double figure hit total in a game.
"They are a great team and who would have thought that prior to the game that with the two starting pitchers on the mound the final score would be 17-11? Baseball can be a whacky sport like that," head coach Paul Svagdis said.
Azusa Pacific will face California Baptist in the second round of the regional tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. (weather permitting). The six-team, double-elimination tournament is being played at Mt. San Antonio's Mazamanian Field and is hosted by Cal Poly Pomona.
After being delayed for three hours from their regularly scheduled start time of 3:00 p.m. the two teams played a nearly four-affair where the Cougars offense was on full displayed.
After allowing a first inning run, the Cougars quickly struck back. Against Triton starting pitcher Justin Donatella, the region's pitcher of the year, Azusa Pacific put a four-spot on the scoreboard in their first at-bats. The second-seeded Cougars pieced together five straight hits started by a Blake James double. After a Daniel Martin single to leftfield, Jordan Brower's RBI single drove home James. Ryan Santana followed with a two-run double; the scoring was capped off with a Pablo O'Connor single. Within a matter of 10 minutes the Cougars made a one-run deficit into a 4-1 lead.
The Cougars added to that edge in the third inning when Brower hit his 23rd double of the season to deep left centerfield which scored Martin. UC San Diego got a run back in the fourth inning when Tyler Howsley singled home Justin Flatt to make the score 5-2.
UC San Diego, the region's fifth seed, threatened in the fifth inning as Brandon Shirley and Gradeigh Sanchez drew back-to-back walks. Cougars starting pitcher Josh Staumont settled-in and got consecutive strikeouts and a ground out to end the Triton scoring chance.
Azusa Pacific all but put the game out of reach with a seven-run fifth inning. They sent 11 batters to the plate during the frame in which they pounded out five hits and took advantage of two errors. Heading the final four innings of the game the Cougars were in front 12-2.
After the Tritons put two runs on the scoreboard in the sixth inning, Azusa Pacific's prolific offense went back to work as they put together a five-run inning to increase their lead to 12 runs at 17-4. In the seventh inning UC San Diego kicked the tires on making a comeback by sending 10 men to the plate and scoring five times but with two runners on base and two outs relief pitcher Jonathan Velasco got a pop out to end the mild comeback threat. UC San Diego scored twice in the eighth to make the score 17-11 but in they never mounted a serious threat in the final inning.
Staumont went 5.1 innings to earn his sixth win of the season. The junior struck out nine and surrendered just three hits.
"One of things that Josh does really well is overcome adversity," Svagdis said. "That's what he has been doing all year and that will be a great attribute for him when he goes to the next level."
Offensively five different players had multi-hit games. Bower and O'Connor led the way with three hits each. Brower and Michael Staudinger each had three RBI. Martin scored three times.
Donatella took the defeat which was just his third of the season. Azusa Pacific scored nine runs off the righthander who only gave-up eight total runs in 81 innings of work coming into the game.
