WAIPAHU, Hawai'i -- Azusa Pacific closed out its Hawai'i road trip the same way it started as week ago, and that was with senior southpaw Kale Morton protecting a one-run lead in the late innings as he finished off a four-game series sweep over Hawai'i Pacific with a complete-game 5-4 win over the Sharks.
A week earlier, Morton earned his second career save with a scoreless ninth inning as the Cougars swept Hawai'i Hilo in a rainy doubleheader on the Big Island, and he returned to a starting role against HPU with an opportunity to finish off a four-game series sweep. He scattered 4 runs on 8 hits without walking a batter while gathering his momentum towards a strong finish as he retired 13 in a row to finish off the victory.
Joseph Quire, Jr. drove in the game-winning run with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly, scoring Sean Aspinall from third base to take the lead for good. Quire reached base safely in three of his four plate appearances, going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks.
With Monday's win, Azusa Pacific completes a perfect 6-0 road trip in Hawaii, with two games against Hawai'i Hilo postponed due to rain. The Cougars, ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division II, are now 33-3 overall and 23-3 in Pacific West Conference play, while Hawai'i Pacific fell to 16-20 overall and 10-18 in PacWest play.
What It Means: After Azusa Pacific's next three opponents all picked up four-game series sweeps against PacWest opponents last week, the Cougars kept pace by sweeping the Hawai'i road trip to maintain its hold on the PacWest lead. The final 12 games of the regular season include four-game series against third-place California Baptist, fourth-place Biola, and second-place Point Loma for a chance to win the Cougars' second consecutive PacWest championship.
What's Next: Azusa Pacific returns home for eight of its final 12 games of the regular season, beginning with a four-game series at home against California Baptist, which has won seven straight after a four-game series sweep at Fresno Pacific last week. The series starts with single games at 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, April 19-20, and a noon doubleheader on Saturday, April 21.
How It Happened: After leaving the bases loaded without scoring in the first inning, the Cougars produced three runs in the second inning to take an early lead. Tim Lichty and Quire drew consecutive one-out walks before Mychael Goudreau came up with an RBI single to plate the first run of the game. Quire scored on a passed ball, and Osvaldo Tovalin hit a two-out single to center to hand Morton a 3-0 lead.
With two outs in the top of the third, Steven Garrett crushed a 3-2 pitch for a solo home run to left-center, giving Azusa Pacific a valuable insurance run and a 4-0 lead. In the bottom of the third, Morton erased a leadoff single by picking off the runner at first base, and after an error allowed another HPU baserunner, he caught a liner back up the middle to start a lineout double play to end the inning.
The Sharks put two runs on the scoreboard in the fourth inning, scoring both runs on Micah Layosa's pop fly into shallow right field that was nearly caught but dropped safely to the ground. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Hawaii Pacific tied the game at 4-4 with another two-out double, this time a Ryan Torres-Torioka line drive to left field which was almost caught by left fielder Pablo O'Connor.
Wyatt Hoppie flied out to center field to end the fifth inning with the game tied at 4-4, and Morton didn't allow another baserunner the rest of the game, retiring 13 straight to finish things off. Aspinall led off the seventh inning with a double to left-center, and a groundout moved him over to third base. Griffen Herrera and Garrett each drew walks to load the bases for Quire, who lifted a fly ball to deep right field, allowing Aspinall to score easily with both baserunners each taking the next base, as well.
Inside The Box Score: Aspinall's seventh-inning double led to the game-winning run while also extending his hitting streak to 16 games as he finished 1-for-4 on the day… Exactly one week after notching his second career save, Morton posted his first career complete-game performance… Morton's complete-game effort was the seventh complete game by Azusa Pacific pitchers this season… Quire batted .500 (5-for-10) on the six-game Hawai'i road trip… Goudreau drove in the first run of the game, giving him a team-high 10 RBIs on the six-game road trip… Azusa Pacific pitchers held HPU and Hawai'i Hilo to a combined .205 batting average (38-for-185) over the six-game stretch.
