SAN DIEGO – Friday was for the pitchers.
Azusa Pacific used a pair of strong pitching performances to take a pair of games from Point Loma on Friday afternoon.
With the PacWest doubleheader sweep, the Cougars up their record to 33-7 overall and 20-6 in league games.
The longtime rivals conclude their four-game set with a Saturday twinbill beginning at Noon.
Game One – Azusa Pacific 2, Point Loma 0
Matching zeroes in the early going, the offense did more than enough in the later stages to aid in Michael Fairchild's quality performance on the bump.
Despite threating with runners in scoring position in three of the first five innings, the Cougars couldn't get on the scoreboard. None less Fairchild was in a groove as he allowed just one runner to reach second base in the first five frames.
Azusa Pacific scored their first run in the sixth stanza when Quincy Quitero and Nick Estrella hit back-to-back doubles with one-out. Point Loma put two runners on base in the seventh but Fairchild got out of the mild jam to complete his outing.
Still nursing a one-run lead in the last inning, Cam Bennett reached base on an error then stole second base to get into scoring position. On 3-1 offering, Pablo O'Connor drove Bennett home with his third base knock of the afternoon. Point Loma put runners on second and third base with one out. Mitch Williams secured the save with a strikeout and groundout to close out the victory and earn his second save of the season.
Fairchild's final line was seven innings of work where he allowed just four hits while striking out six in his 110-pitch effort.
At the plate O'Connor was 3-for-5 with an RBI while Quintero went 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Game Two – Azusa Pacific 9, Point Loma 2
After getting some run support during the initial innings, starting pitcher Billy Oxford did more than enough to help secure the win.
In the second inning the Cougars put a three-spot on the scoreboard with a three-hit frame. Quincy Quintero, Michael Franco and Justin Gomez all had RBI base knocks. The following inning Quintero followed with a solo homerun to leftfield on the first pitch he saw.
With a four-run cushion, Oxford was mowing down the opposition. After the fifth inning he had allowed just one base hit. The righthander didn't allow a runner to reach second base until the sixth frame. Before leaving the game after eight strong innings, he allowed just four hits while striking out seven.
In the seventh inning Mychael Goudreau was hit by a pitch with the base loaded to increase to visitors edge to 5-0. Point Loma didn't score their first run until the eighth inning. Azusa Pacific poured on four more runs in their last swings highlighted by a Goudreau two-run single and a Gomez solo homerun. Kyle Hemni recorded his first RBI of the season as the steady glove man's single scored Goudreau with two outs.
