FRESNO, Calif. – The Cougars split a doubleheader against Fresno Pacific in the middle day of a three-day, four-game set against the Sunbirds.
Game One – Azusa Pacific 15, Fresno Pacific 1
Azusa Pacific set a season high for runs scored and hits (17) as the pounded the Sunbirds in the opener.
Eight of the nine starters recorded at least one hit as 10 total hitters knocked at least a single. Mitch Dergazarian had a team high four hits while scoring three runs. Adrian Tovalin, the reigning PacWest Player of the Week, tallied a three-hit game with two runs scored. Pablo O'Connor was not to be out-done as the sophomore went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI.
While the offense was extremely successful, Joe Hutshing went about his business on the mound. The right hander went a season high eight innings on 99 pitches. After giving a run in the first inning, he struck out four and scattered eight hits to improve his record to 4-1.
The Cougars never trailed in the contest. They held a 5-1 lead after four innings then poured it on late. They scored five, three and two runs in the seventh through ninth innings respectively.
Despite all the runs and hits, Azusa clobbered one home run which came off the bat of Michael Franco – his first long ball with the program.
Game Two – Fresno Pacific 9, Azusa Pacific 5
In a game where Azusa Pacific used seven pitchers, the Sunbirds held a six-run lead after two innings then held off a Cougar mid-inning rally to secure the win.
Despite trailing 6-0, the Cougars made the game interesting with a five-run fourth inning. Pablo O'Connor hit a two-run homerun with one-out to start the scoring. Michael Staudinger followed that with a long ball of his own to cut the Azusa Pacific down to 6-3. After a Steven Garrett walk, Justin Gomez made it three home run in the space of four at-bats. The freshman hit his first collegiate homerun to rightfield.
Now leading just 6-5, the home team scored two runs on two hits while taking advantage of a Cougar error in the fourth inning. Azusa Pacific was able to record one hit in their final three innings as they couldn't complete the comeback.
