IRVINE, Calif. – Sometimes the schedule works out like it was meant to.
Azusa Pacific completed a four-game sweep of Concordia by winning 11-1 and 12-1 respectively in Saturday afternoon's doubleheader.
After the series the win the Cougars set their sights on the final four-game set of the regular season. After concluding final exam week, Azusa Pacific will host Dixie State for the PacWest title. Not only are the teams jostling for a league crown, they are ranked second and third respectively in the first NCAA West Region rankings. The four games will be play from May 8-10. It is the second straight season the Cougars are playing for the PacWest title in their final series.
Azusa Pacific will enter the series with a 38-8 overall mark with a 25-7 record in PacWest games. Dixie State is 35-10-1 and 24-7-1 respectively. The team with the best conference winning percentage after the series will claim the league championship.
Game One – Azusa Pacific 11, Concordia 1
As has been the case in this series, Azusa Pacific rode a quality offensive start to a victory.
In the first four innings the Cougars scored seven runs which was more than enough for starting pitcher Kale Morton. At the plate Cam Bennett continued to have an outstanding series. The centerfield had another three-hit game while scoring twice and driving-in one. Mychael Goudreau also had a three-hit contest.
For the third straight game Azusa Pacific scored in the first inning, Bennett scored the first run after an outfield error. As the inning continued, Goudreau and Sean Aspinall each had RBI base knocks to increase the visitors lead to 3-0. A Pablo O'Connor sacrifice fly in the second increase the Cougars cushion to 4-0.
Azusa Pacific put together another three-run frame in the fourth as Bennett, O'Connor and Goudreau each had an RBI. Despite being held scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings, the Cougars scored once in the seventh then three more times in the eighth to wrap-up their scoring. Of those four runs, Quincy Quintero drove-in two of them with singles each in stanza. Justin Gomez and Michael Franco also had late-game RBI base hits.
All this was plenty for Morton who put together a quality start. The lefthander went seven innings and gave-up just one run on eight hits while striking out four.
Game Two – Azusa Pacific 12, Concordia 1
The offensive onslaught came to a close in a big way in the nightcap.
The Cougars nailed three homeruns and made the Concordia pitcher pay for eight walks as seven different players recorded a hit.
Adrian Tovalin went 3-for-4 with a pair of homeruns and eight RBI. He also scored three runs while racking up 12 total bases. Sean Aspinall had a three-run homerun while Michael Staudinger went 2-for-2 with two run scored.
On the mound Dillon Miyashiro earned the win as he struck out four over five innings.
Fittingly enough Azusa Pacific scored in the first inning for the fourth straight game. After Tovalin's three-run homerun highlighted the initial frame, the Cougars sent eight men to plate in the third frame. Tovalin had a two-run double then Sean Aspinall smashed a three-run shot over the leftfield fence. After nine outs the Cougars held a quite comfortable eight-run cushion.
Goudreau increased the advantage with an RBI single in the fifth inning. The home team's only run in the contest came in the bottom half of that frame. The scoring was wrapped-up with Tovalin's second three-run big fly of the game in the sixth stanza.
