LA MIRADA, Calif. -- With a 7-2 road win over Biola Thursday afternoon, Azusa Pacific head coach Paul Svagdis became the program's all-time winningest head coach, lifting him to career victory number 517 in his 16th season leading Cougar Baseball.

The victory had similarities to the 500-plus wins which preceded it, yet the game itself carried plenty of meaning all its own. It snapped the Cougars' three-game losing streak, which subsequently dropped Azusa Pacific out of the top spot in the NCAA Division II national rankings after nine consecutive weeks at the top of the weekly NCBWA Division II writers poll.

Freshman lefthander Brendan Dixon fired seven scoreless innings of relief, taking over after Azusa Pacific ace Isaiah Carranza left after two innings due to illness, and the Cougars wasted no time erasing an early 2-0 deficit behind home runs from Joseph Quire Jr. and Griffen Herrera, who batted No. 7 and No. 8, respectively, in Thursday's lineup.

With the victory, Svagdis now owns a career record of 517-309 in his 16 seasons at the helm, surpassing Tony Barbone's 516-win total from 1986-99 and 2001-02 (16 seasons).

Azusa Pacific improves to 35-6 overall and 25-6 in PacWest play to extend its lead over second-place Point Loma to 2 ½ games. Biola falls to 27-16 overall with a 19-14 conference record in its first season of PacWest competition.

How It Happened: Biola picked up two runs in the first inning off Carranza, who posted a scoreless second inning before exiting the game. Quire got the Cougars on the board with a two-out solo home run in the top of the second, and Sean Aspinall drove in the tying run in the third inning on a bases-loaded fielder's choice.

After Quire and Herrera drew consecutive walks to lead off the fourth, a force play on a sacrifice bunt attempt was followed by a balk that put runners at second and third. Mychael Goudreau laced a hit into right-center field to drive in two runs and give the Cougars a 4-2 lead, and Azusa Pacific added one run in the sixth and two more on Herrera's two-run home run in the seventh for the final 7-2 margin.

Dixon retired 12 of the first 14 batters he faced, and he stranded Biola baserunners in each of the final three innings to finish off the game with 7 scoreless frames. He picked up the win in relief, improving to 2-0 on the season.

Quire, Herrera, and Justin Gomez each finished with two hits to pace the offense, and Herrera, Gomez and Pablo O'Connor each drew two walks.

Inside The Box Score: Goudreau finished 1-for-3 with a walk, two runs, and two RBIs, and he has now reached base safely in 20 consecutive games… Dixon scattered three hits and three walks while notching four strikeouts in his seven shutout frames.

What's Next: The four-game PacWest series continues Friday with a 3 p.m. contest at Biola, with a Saturday doubleheader to close out the series.