ST. GEORGE, Utah. — Azusa Pacific baseball split a doubleheader with Dixie State after losing the first 4-3 but winning the second 12-1. The victory is the Cougars' first win on the road this season.

How it Happened (Game 1):

It was the Cougars that jumped out to the early lead in the second game of the series and the first of the day. In the top of the first, Casey Dykstra singled to left field with one out before Griffen Herrera walked. Both would advance a base moments later on a balk call before Osvaldo Tovalin hit a sacrifice fly to center field scoring the first run of the game. With a runner at second and two outs, Nick Estrella delivered an RBI double to right center field before Tido Robles drove Estrella in with an RBI single to center. After one half-inning the Cougars led 3-0.

Transfer from Cal State Fullerton, Joe Wills received his first start on the hill of the season and was impressive. Wills hadn't allowed a run in his two relief appearances on the year. In his first start for the Cougars, Wills tossed 4.1 hitless innings, struck out four and was in line for the win in the seven-inning affair.

In the fifth inning, a runner reaching on an error, a walk and a hit-by-pitch would end Wills' outing with the bases juiced and one out. Freshman Korey Shepard entered from the bullpen and did a terrific job escaping the jam. Shepard induced a foul out and a fly out in the two batters he faced in the inning to help the Cougars keep their 3-0 lead.

The Trailblazers would get within one run in the sixth inning though. Shepard hit two Dixie State batters early in the inning which would come back to bite him. In a 3-2 game, senior reliever Tripp Aversa inherited a first and third situation with just one out. Just as Shepard did to end the previous inning, Aversa kept the Cougars in front after a foul out and a strikeout. 

Dixie State entered the seventh and potential final inning of the game trailing 3-2 before Jake Engel's two-run home run off of Aversa walked it off for the Trailblazers. Engel has three home runs in the first two games against the Cougars. 

How it Happened (Game 2):

Once again it was Azusa Pacific that jumped out in the first inning to an early lead. Casey Dykstra singled before stealing second and moving to third on a wild throw from Dixie State's catcher. Osvaldo Tovalin then reached on an error scoring Dykstra in the process. With the 1-0 lead, Joseph Kim singled Tovalin to second before Eli Ledesma drove in Tovalin with a single of his own. Just like that the Cougars capitalized on Trailblazer mistakes and had a 2-0 lead after one half.

The Cougars offense pushed onward in the third inning. After back-to-back singles to lead off the inning from Herrera and Tovalin, first baseman Kim launched his second home run of the week this time to right center field putting the Cougars ahead 5-1.

Azusa Pacific's offense kept rolling in the fourth inning, too. One-out back-to-back singles from the top of the order in Aaron Roose and Dykstra got things going. Herrera was then drilled by a pitch to load the bases before Tovalin drove in another run with a sacrifice fly to center field increasing the lead to 6-1. The Cougars weren't done in the inning though, as Nick Estrella came up next and hit a three-run shot to left center to put the Cougars up 9-1. The homer was his team-high third of the season, he also leads the Cougars in batting average (.545), RBI (10), and hits (12) through the first 11 games of the season.

Estrella, who started in right field in the earlier game, started on the bump for the third time of the season. He tossed 3.2 innings allowing just one run, striking out four and stranding five runners in the first three innings. He was entered into the hitting lineup in the third inning when the Cougars gave up the DH for the remainder of the game in favor of Estrella's bat.

With the score 9-1 in the fourth inning, John Szczesny came to Estrella's rescue. With two on and two-out, Szczesny struck out the Trailblazer's hottest hitter in Jake Engel to keep the Trailblazers tally to just one.

The Cougars added on to their eight-run lead with an RBI triple from Travis Aversa before Roose drove Aversa in when he reached on an error extending the Cougars lead to double digits. Another single from Dykstra allowed Roose to go from first to third before Herrera drove in the final run of the game with a fielder's choice groundout to third putting the final touches on the 12-1 win.

Szczesny would pitch the final three innings for the Cougars without allowing a run and striking out one in a total of 3.1 innings securing the Cougars first road win of the season. He picked up his first victory of the season in the outing.

What's Next:
The Cougars and Trailblazers will play the final game of the four-game series tomorrow, Saturday February 15th. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. Mountain Time or 11 a.m. Pacific Time.