AZUSA, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific's 7-2, 4-3 doubleheader sweep Friday over Western Oregon clinched a series win for the Cougars over the defending Great Northwest Athletic Conference champions with one game left in the series.
Sean Aspinall hit a double to straightaway center with two runners on base and no outs in the bottom of the 11th, scoring Mychael Goudreau from second base to secure the walkoff victory in 11 innings in the second game of the doubleheader, which was scheduled as a seven-inning contest.
VIDEO: ASPINALL WALKOFF DOUBLE (BOTTOM 11TH) (via @APUbaseball)
The Cougars claimed the opener by a 7-2 score, as Isaiah Carranza struck out 9 in 6 innings of work to collect the win while Aspinall, Justin Gomez, and Pablo O'Connor each hit home runs to spark the Azusa Pacific offense.
Aspinall finished the day 4-for-10, going 3-for-4 in the opener before collecting his only hit in 6 at-bats to win the game in the 11th. Aspinall is now the team leader in home runs (3) and RBIs (10) this season. O'Connor went 3-for-6 on the day and drew 4 walks in the second game, including three intentional walks in every plate appearance after the fifth inning.
What's Next: Azusa Pacific wraps up the three-game series with Western Oregon University on Saturday, Feb. 10, with a single game at noon.
How It Happened (Game 1): Carranza dealt 9 strikeouts in 6 innings, scattering 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits with a pair of walks to pick up the win and improve to 2-0 on the season. He enjoyed a lead from the first inning on after Aspinall hit a three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the first. After Western Oregon scratched single runs across in the fourth and fifth innings, Gomez and O'Connor hit back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the fifth to give Carranza a three-run cushion again, 5-2.
VIDEO: O'CONNOR HOME RUN (BOTTOM 5TH) (via @APUbaseball)
Tripp Aversa collected his second save of the season after closing out the final three innings, and Azusa Pacific added two more insurance runs in the eighth when Casey Dykstra and Goudreau were hit by pitch with the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the eighth. Aversa struck out 4 and scattered 3 hits across 3 shutout innings for his second three-inning save of the season.
How It Happened (Game 2): Freshman third baseman Osvaldo Tovalin provided the first set of offensive fireworks in the nightcap, breaking a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning with a 2-run home run over the right-field netting for his first collegiate home run. The Wolves answered with 2 runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 3-3 and send the scheduled 7-inning game into extra innings.
VIDEO: TOVALIN HOME RUN (BOTTOM 6TH) (via @APUbaseball)
Tovalin finished the game 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs, and Nick Estrella got the offense on the board with a fourth-inning solo home run which tied the game at 1-1. Azusa Pacific got runners on base or hit safely in all 11 innings of the nightcap, and the persistence paid off in the extra frames as Aspinall delivered the game-winning double in the 11th. Goudreau was hit by pitch to lead off the frame, and O'Connor was intentionally walked after Goudreau advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Dillon Miyashiro started Game 2 and lasted 6.1 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits while striking out 9. Johnny Szczesny added 4 more strikeouts in 2.2 innings of relief work, and freshman Declan Kearney struck out 4 in 2 perfect innings.
Inside The Box Score: Aspinall's 4-hit, 4-RBI day pushed him into the team RBI lead (10)… His season batting average is now .414, which ranks second on the team behind O'Connor (.423)… Cougar pitchers struck out 30 batters in 20 innings while issuing only three walks on the day… Tovalin's first collegiate home run cleared the protective netting above the outfield fence in right field… Western Oregon was led offensively by leadoff hitter Torreahno Sweet and catcher/DH Jared McDonald, who were the only Wolves players to hit safely in both games of the twinbill… Alex Roth struck out 8 in 3.1 innings of relief as he helped keep the Cougars scoreless in the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth innings of the second game.
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