SAN FRANCISCO -- Azusa Pacific wrapped up a season-opening series sweep over San Francisco State with a seven-run ninth-inning outburst, breaking a 4-4 tie to finish off the series with an 11-4 win over the Gators.

Pablo O'Connor drove in the go-ahead runs with a two-run single down the third-base line, part of a 3-for-5, 4-RBI performance which included an RBI double and his first home run of the season. The Cougars sent 12 batters to the plate in the decisive final frame, going through four different SFSU pitchers in the inning.

Nick Estrella struck out nine in six innings in his first collegiate start on the mound, giving up two runs (one unearned) on four hits. Layne Henderson picked up the win in relief, throwing the final 1.1 innings while notching three strikeouts.

How It Happened: For the first eight innings, both teams answered each opponent score, starting in the fourth inning when Osvaldo Tovalin made amends for a third-inning error that led to SFSU's first run of the game. The true freshman responded with a one-out RBI double to center, scoring Justin Gomez from first base to tie the game at 1-1. In the top of the sixth, O'Connor hit an RBI double for a 2-1 lead, which the Gators answered with a single run in the bottom of the sixth.

Two innings later, O'Connor broke the tie with a one-out solo home run to right, and Austin Russ delivered an insurance run with a bases-loaded groundout that made it a 4-2 Cougar lead. However, in the bottom of the eighth, SFSU tied the game with a pair of two-out runs to send the game into the ninth inning tied at 4-4.

Kyle Henmi led off the ninth with a single, and Mychael Goudreau and Gomez drew walks to load the bases with no outs for O'Connor. After he delivered another pair of RBIs with his two-run single, Tovalin made it 7-4 with a sacrifice fly to score Gomez. Sean Aspinall smacked the first offering from relief pitcher Daniel Jimenez over the fence in right-center for a two-run home run, extending the lead to 9-4, and four more hits produced another pair of runs to complete the seven-run, seven-hit ninth-inning barrage.

Inside The Box Score: O'Connor led the Cougar offense with three hits, including the sixth-inning double for his first extra-base hit of the year and his first home run of the year. Tovalin went 2-for-4 to maintain a .500 batting average through the first four games of the season, and his fourth-inning double was his fourth extra-base hit of the season.

The Cougars outscored SFSU by a 33-10 margin over the four-game series. The Azusa Pacific pitching staff combined for 36 strikeouts against just 5 walks in 34 innings, notching a 2.38 ERA over the series.

San Francisco State's offense was led by Chris Smutny (2-for-4) and midgame replacement David Mansell (2-for-2).

What's Next: Azusa Pacific visits Biola in a non-conference matchup on Wednesday, Feb. 7, before hosting Western Oregon for a three-game series beginning with a Friday, Feb. 9 doubleheader.