IRVINE, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific picked up a doubleheader split Monday at Concordia, despite surrendering a combined seven first-inning runs in the two games. The Cougars were not able to recover in a 5-2 defeat in the opener before recovering from an early 4-1 deficit to post a 5-4 win in the seven-inning series finale.

Griffen Herrera drove in a pair of runs with a two-out double in the top of the second inning of the nightcap, pushing the Cougars in front, 5-4, before the a trio of relievers slammed the door on the Eagles for the final six frames of the seven-inning contest.

Seven different pitchers combined to finish the opener, and four more pitchers combined to toss seven innings in the second game of the doubleheader, which was rescheduled from Saturday to Monday due to rain over the weekend. Later this week, Azusa Pacific takes on Point Loma in back-to-back doubleheaders, a stretch of six games in six days for the Cougars, who are now 11-6 on the year.

What's Next: Azusa Pacific takes on Point Loma in a pair of non-conference doubleheaders, visiting the Sea Lions in San Diego on Friday, March 8, before hosting the second doubleheader on Saturday, March 9. This week's four-game series will count as non-conference games, as the teams meet again for a four-game PacWest series at the end of the regular season.

How It Happened (Game 1): Just five batters into the bottom of the first inning, Concordia scored three runs to take an early lead, and Eagles starting pitcher Alex Zalasky scattered two runs on five hits in a complete-game win.

The Cougars cut the lead to 3-1 on Osvaldo Tovalin's third-inning two-out single, but Concordia came right back to score a pair of two-out runs in the fourth to extend the cushion to 5-1. Aaron Roose hit a two-out RBI double in the seventh to pull the Cougars within three runs, 5-2, and Mychael Goudreau kept the inning alive with a single. He advanced to second on a throw home that kept Roose at third, giving Azusa Pacific runners at second and third, but Zalasky escaped without further damage on an inning-ending groundout.

Zalasky retired seven of the final eight batters he faced, recording a perfect eighth inning before working around a leadoff walk in the ninth to finish off the win. He allowed just five hits and two walks on the day while striking out three, and leadoff batter Haloa Dudoit went 3-for-5 to spark the Eagles' offense.

How It Happened (Game 2): Osvaldo Tovalin got the scoring started early in the second game with a one-out solo home run in the top of the first inning, but Concordia's offense put together a four-run frame in the bottom of the first to take a 4-1 lead in the seven-inning series finale.

This time, the Cougars answered with their own four-spot, loading the bases with no outs in the top of the second on consecutive walks followed by a Joe Quire Jr. bunt single. Roose singled to center field to cut the lead to 4-2, and Goudreau was hit by pitch with one out to force in another run and make it 4-3. After an infield popup for the second out, Herrera hit a two-out, two-run double to left to push the cOugars in front, 5-4.

The Azusa Pacific bullpen protected the lead the rest of the way. Anthony Mayorga, who got the final out of Concordia's four-run opening frame, worked around a leadoff bunt single to put up a scoreless frame in the second, and Tripp Aversa followed with three shutout innings, scattering two hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Declan Kearney finished off the game with a two-inning save, firing a perfect seventh inning with a pair of strikeouts to earn his third save of the season.

Quire and Casey Dykstra led the Cougar offense with two hits each.

Inside The Box Score: Quire Jr. batted a team-best .438 over the four-game series with Concordia, going 7-for-16… Cole Kleszcz batted .400 (6-for-15), and Osvaldo Tovalin batted .375 (6-for-16) with two home runs and four RBIs in the four-game series… Tovalin has hit safely in all 17 games this season… Eleven of the Cougars' 12 pitchers who have made relief appearances this year threw in Monday's twinbill, and all but one threw 26 pitches or less… The lone exception was Tripp Aversa, who threw a team-high three innings with three strikeouts (another team-high for the day) without surrendering a run… As a team, Azusa Pacific batted .308 (41-for-133) in the four-game series against Concordia.