AZUSA, Calif. – Just before the halfway point of the season, things are looking quite good.
Azusa Pacific swept their sixth doubleheader of the season as they took a pair from Hawai'i Hilo on Thursday.
For the seventh then eighth time this season the Cougars scored at least 10 runs as they upped their record to 21-3 overall and 8-2 in PacWest contests. During the two games the No. 15 Cougars hit five more homeruns to increase their PacWest lead to 42.
The teams play another doubleheader Friday to close out the four-game set. The first game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
Game One - Azusa Pacific 11, Hawai'i Hilo 2
Pablo O'Connor got the offensive merry-go-round working in the first inning with his 11th big fly of the season to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead. In the second frame, Azusa Pacific put a three-spot on the scoreboard with a two-out rally. After back-to-back singles from Quincy Quintero and Cam Bennett, Mychael Goudreau doubled them home. An O'Connor base knock scored Goudreau which gave the home team a four-run cushion.
Hawai'i Hilo chipped into that lead with a pair of runs in the fourth inning. Phillip Steering hit his first homerun of the season then Jacob Grijalva hit an RBI single to cut their deficit in half. A Goudreau sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the frame, gave the Cougars a 5-2 edge. Another sacrifice fly, this one off the bat of Sean Aspinall, gave the Cougars their four-run advantage back after the fifth frame.
O'Connor hit his second homerun of the game to take the PacWest lead with a solo shot in the sixth stanza. The scoring was rounded out with a four-run eighth inning highlighted by a Michael Staudinger three-run homerun.
The offense did more than enough for Cougar starting pitcher Michael Fairchild. The reigning conference and west region Pitcher of the Week went eight innings where he struck out five and scattered seven hits. With the strong outing, the righthander improves his record to 5-0.
Game Two – Azusa Pacific 13, Hawai'i Hilo 2
One huge inning was plenty for the Cougars as they won their sixth straight contest.
A Phillip Steering RBI single in the third inning opened the scoring as the visitors took a 1-0 lead. Azusa Pacific, despite not getting any hits, continued to put runners on base in the early frames but couldn't get on the scoreboard. The Cougars broke through in the fifth stanza when Sean Aspinall nailed a double to left centerfield then scored on a Quincy Quintero RBI groundout.
In the seventh inning the flood gates opened. After Michael Staudinger's RBI single gave the Cougars the lead, three batters later Quintero highlighted the inning. The first baseman absolutely crushed a 3-2 pitch with the bases loaded deep over the left centerfield wall. After his second homerun of the season Azusa Pacific was comfortably in front 6-1. Even with a sizable edge, the Cougars continue to pile on as they sent 14 batters to plate. Adrian Tovalin also added a big fly with a three-run shot as the home team scored nine times.
The final three runs came in the eighth inning as O'Connor and Tovalin each had run producing base knocks.
On the mound Billy Oxford improved his record to 6-0 with seven strong innings. He struck out four and allowed five hits.
