HONOLULU, Hawai'i -- Azusa Pacific baseball opened conference play in Hawai'i last night dropping the first of a four-game series versus Hawai'i Pacific 3-2. So far this season, five of the seven road losses for the Cougars have been decided by one run. The Cougars will continue on the road playing a total of eight PacWest games in Hawai'i over the course of nine days. 

How it Happened:

The scoring opened in the second inning and the Sharks struck first off of Cougars starting pitcher A.J. Woodall. A one-out double led to an eventual RBI single breaking the deadlock as it was the difference in the game through the first five innings.

The Cougars offense was held hitless through the first five innings of the game before they got things going in the sixth. A leadoff single from junior catcher Aaron Roose led to an RBI double from junior outfielder Casey Dykstra. With Dykstra in scoring position senior Griffen Herrera brought him in with an RBI single to center field to give the Cougars a 2-1 lead.

The Sharks responded in the next half inning with two runs of their own to retake the lead before protecting it the rest of the way. 

Woodall continued to punch out opponents at a high rate in the start, tossing 5.1 innings and striking out 10 in the loss. He now has 27 strikeouts in 21 innings for a career-high 11.6 Ks per nine innings. The Cougars bullpen between senior relievers John Szczesny and Jon Keane held HPU scoreless in the final 2.2 frames while striking out two total.

The Cougars will look to rebound against HPU in game two of the series on Friday, Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m. (HST).