AZUSA, Calif. — Azusa Pacific, after nearly a 12-month wait, opened its 2021 baseball season with an impressive 16-5 victory over Westmont College, Friday afternoon. The Cougars bats were chomping at the bit, recording 18 hits in the 11-run opening-day win. Azusa Pacific was led by senior Griffen Herrera who went 2-for-4 with four RBI and redshirt sophomore Brett Soria who went 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.

How it Happened: The Cougars threatened but didn't score in the first inning, before exploding for nine runs in the second. After back-to-back singles to lead off the inning from senior Joseph Kim and redshirt sophomore Evan Banks, freshman shortstop Jeffery Castillo drove in the first run on an RBI groundout. With two outs, the next eight batters reached producing eight more runs for Azusa Pacific. Junior Casey Dykstra, Soria, Herrera, and Kim each had an RBI single apiece, while Banks drove in two with the Cougars' first extra-base hit of the game. His two-RBI triple increased the Cougars' lead to 8-0. Freshman Spencer Rasmussen added another RBI single to cap off the 9-run second inning that saw the Cougars rack up nine hits. The offense continued to pour it on in the third when Herrera launched the first home run of the Cougars 2021 campaign to left-center field, plating three runs in the process.

Junior starting pitcher A.J. Woodall shined in his first four innings of work, allowing just two hits while recording 12 outs through the first 14 batters he faced. Woodall struck out two and induced a groundball double play to end the second inning. Woodall exited in the fifth inning tossing 4.1 innings allowing three hits, no walks and one earned run in the opening day start but didn't qualify for the win.

After another Warrior run made it 12-3, Azusa Pacific increased their lead back to 12 in the bottom half of the sixth inning. The Cougars loaded up the bases with a hit-by-pitch and two consecutive singles to start the frame. With the bases loaded, sophomore Will Stroud doubled to left-center driving in a pair of Cougars creating a 14-3 lead. Another run came around to score on an RBI groundout increasing Azusa Pacific's advantage to 15-3 through six.

The Cougars plated one more on a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning off the bat of true freshman Cade Marshman who was 1-for-1 with an RBI and a run scored in his collegiate debut coming off the bench. 

Azusa Pacific's bullpen held Westmont to just two earned runs over 4.2 innings. Senior reliever Tripp Aversa was credited with the win after throwing 1.2 innings allowing three hits and no earned runs while punching out a team-high three Warriors. Redshirt sophomore Mike Snyder allowed one earned run across two innings of work while David Wylie closed out the victory with a strikeout after allowing one run on two hits.

Inside the Boxscore: Azusa Pacific played station-to-station Friday afternoon as 15 of their 18 hits came on base-hits. Soria contributed to this by knocking four singles himself while driving in an RBI. The Cougars also reached base via the hit-by-pitch on five occasions.

In today's 16-5 win, six Cougars made their Azusa Pacific debuts including, David Hays, Bradley Taylor, Cade Marshman, Brady Malpass, George Christison, and Tyus Santa Anna.

Up Next: The Cougars and Warriors will play again tomorrow, Saturday, February 27th at the Cougar Baseball Complex in a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. for the first game that will be a 9-inning game, before the nightcap is scheduled to begin around 5 p.m. will be a seven-inning affair. Both games will be streamed for free at Cougars All Access.