FRESNO, Calif. — Azusa Pacific completed a doubleheader sweep at Fresno Pacific in non-conference action Thursday. The Cougars won the first 1-0 behind eight scoreless innings from junior A.J. Woodall. Then their offense carried them to a 13-1 victory in the seven-inning nightcap of the doubleheader.

How it Happened (Game 1): Woodall received his second start of the season following up his stellar opening day start with an even better showing this afternoon. Although it wasn't easy for Woodall out of the gate where he had to deal through traffic in his first two frames of work. He stranded three runners in the first inning before dealing out of a jam with runners at first and second and nobody out in the second. 

After leaving two runners on in the first inning, the Cougars' offense couldn't put anything together against opposing Fresno Pacific pitcher Justin Fuson. Fuson retired 18 of 21 Cougars from the second inning through the seventh allowing just three hits and retiring seven Cougars on strikes during that span.

Woodall kept the game locked in a pitcher's duel as he returned the favor by retiring 18 of 21 Sunbirds from the third inning through the eighth. During that span, Woodall allowed just three hits and one-upped Fuson by punching out eight.

Before Woodall's day was done, the Cougars offense pushed one across against Fuson in the top of the eighth. With two outs and nobody on, junior Osvaldo Tovalin doubled to center field before senior Nick Estrella singled him in on the next pitch for the only run of the ballgame. That ended Fuson's outing at 7.2 innings and 10 strikeouts and the lone earned run.

Woodall finished strong getting a lineout, strikeout, and foul out in consecutive order to complete his eight scoreless frames bowing out with a career-high 10 strikeouts. Redshirt freshman reliever Hayden Merda closed the door in the ninth inning getting three of the four batters he faced out picking up his first save of his career. 

How it Happened (Game 2): The Cougars offense exploded in the second half of the doubleheader for 13 runs on 15 hits. It began with Tovalin's solo homer in the first which was followed by an RBI double from redshirt junior Joseph Kim that scored Estrella from first to make it 2-0 after one-half inning. 

Azusa Pacific piled on two more runs courtesy of a two-out two-run home run to right field from Kim, his second of the season. With the 4-0 lead, the Cougars added one more via the long ball, this time junior catcher Aaron Roose hit his first of the season to left field making it 5-0.

Cougars starting pitcher Cory Dawson got his second start of the season, once again coming in a seven-inning contest. Dawson picked up right where he left off from his previous outing, retiring nine of the first 10 batters he saw to start the game. The Sunbirds scored one in the fifth on but Dawson limited the damage to one unearned run despite allowing the first two runners on base to start the frame. 

With a 5-1 lead in the sixth, redshirt sophomore Brett Soria doubled to start the inning before Roose singled him in to increase the Cougars' lead to five runs. After a Tovalin single, and an Estrella walk loaded the bases, Kim singled in two more to bring his RBI total to five in the game. With an 8-1 advantage, freshman David Hays drove in a run with a sacrifice fly before Kim scored on a wild pitch to cap off the five-run sixth inning.

Dawson finished off his second win of the season in style with a 1-2-3 sixth inning that included his season-high eighth strikeout to end the sixth.

Estrella added more insurance runs for Azusa Pacific in the seventh with a three-run bomb to left for his first home run of the season increasing the lead to 13-1. Freshman Isaac Mendez struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to complete the two-game non-conference sweep of Fresno Pacific.

Inside the Boxscore

Double Vision. Arguably the two best Cougar pitchers so far this season have been left-handers Woodall and Dawson. Woodall stranded six runners in the first four innings alone before settling in and recording six straight outs to close out his outing in the seventh and eighth innings in game one today. He has now tossed 12.1 innings, allowing just one earned run and striking out 12. Dawson is now 2-0 in his first two starts after six more scoreless innings today in game two. He has amassed 11 innings without allowing an earned run. The Westmont transfer has a team-high 13 punch outs.

Heart of the Order. The Cougars two-three-four hitters combined for 11 of the 22 hits in the two games combined. Tovalin was a combined 5-for-9 on the day with a home run, two doubles, and three runs scored. Estrella went 3-for-7 in his 2021 debut with a home run and four RBI. While Kim finished the day 3-for-6 with one home run, one double, five RBI, and two runs scored.

Fountain of Youth. A trio of freshman stood out in today's doubleheader, Omar Lopez, Hayden Merda and Isaac Mendez. Lopez impressed once again going 3-for-7 on the day. He has three consecutive starts at shortstop and is hitting .500 (6-for-12). Merda worked a scoreless ninth inning to record his first collegiate save. In his 4.2 innings of work, Merda has nine strikeouts and has yet to allow a run. Mendez struck out the side in a scoreless seventh inning to cap off the sweep of the Sunbirds. Mendez has four strikeouts in 3.1 innings so far this year.

Bombs Away. For the third time in the opening six games of the season, Azusa Pacific hit three or more home runs in a game. Their record improves to 2-1 in such games.