AZUSA, Calif. – Just past the season's halfway mark, this year's version of Azusa Pacific baseball is showing they are among the best team to don a Cougar uniform.

With Friday's doubleheader, and subsequent four-game series, sweep of Hawai'i Hilo the Cougars have upped their overall record to 23-3 while posting a 10-2 mark in PacWest games.  It is the second best win total after 26 games for any squad in Cougar history. Only the 2001 team had 24 wins in its first 26 contest.

They have improved their winning streak to eight straight. It is the second time this season they have posted a win in eight consecutive games.

Game One – Azusa Pacific 12, Hawai'i Hilo 3

Despite a slow start, the Cougars had responded resoundingly in the middle innings.

Hawai'i Hilo jumped on Cougar starting pitcher Kale Morton in the early going. The Vulcans scored a run in the first stanza on a Kamalu Kamoku RBI single. The visitors added two more runs in the second inning as Michael Suguro and Jacob Grijalva touched home.

The game shifted in the third frame. Azusa Pacific reliever Layne Henderson put down the Vulcans in order then the home team rallied with four runs in bottom half of the inning. Justin Gomez started the scoring with a two-run double. Sean Aspinall hit a run scoring double of his own then a Nick Estrella sacrifice fly to centerfield scored Aspinall to complete the scoring. An Adrian Tovalin RBI base knock increased the lead to 5-3 after the fourth frame.

Azusa Pacific exploded in the fifth stanza as they made a two-run cushion into eight. Cam Bennett and Pablo O'Connor each launched a two-run homerun while Michael Staudinger connected on a two-run double. A Quincy Quintero big fly in the sixth stanza gave the Cougars their fourth straight run-scoring inning and wrap-up the game's runs.

A host of players had multi-hit games led by Goudreau's 3-for-5 effort. All of the shortstops hits were doubles. He also scored each time he reached base.

On the mound Henderson went 4.2 innings to earn his second win of the season. The righthander allowed just three hits and struck out four in his 67-pitch appearance.

Game Two – Azusa Pacific 5, Hawai'i Hilo 2

Similar to the opening game victory, Azusa Pacific overcame an early deficit before a triumph in the end.

On the game's second pitch Dylan Sugimoto hit his first homerun of the season then he made the score 2-0 in the third inning when he crossed the plate on a wild pitch. From that point forward, it was all Azusa Pacific.

The Cougars scored their first run when Kyle Hemni scurried home from second base on a Justin Gomez single through the right side. Azusa Pacific took the lead for good in the fourth frame. Michael Staudinger opened with a double then scored on a Sean Aspinall sacrifice fly. The eventually game-winning run came when Mychael Goudreau two-run double played Quincy Quintero and Cam Bennett. The four-run stanza ended when Henmi scored on a wild pitch.

Dillon Miyashiro settled into a nice groove on the mound during the middle innings. Through the fourth, fifth and sixth innings he allowed just two hits while inducing five ground outs and four flyouts. He improved to 4-0 after his 78-pitch performance. Kyle Murray earned his first save of the season after allowing just a hit in the seventh, and final, inning.  

Goudreau ran his reached base streak to 26 games while extending his hitting streak to eight in the win.