SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Azusa Pacific baseball was unable to erase an early deficit Tuesday afternoon against Westmont College, losing 12-10. The Cougars fell in their first road game of the season despite outhitting the Warriors 15-13. With the season series currently knotted up at two-apiece the teams have one more game scheduled on March 16 which will decide who wins the season series.

How it Happened: Westmont jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after the first two frames, before Azusa Pacific began chipping away at the lead. Junior Osvaldo Tovalin led off the second inning with a double before redshirt junior Joseph Kim hit his first home run of the season to cut the Warriors lead to 5-2. The Cougars followed it up with two more home runs in the third and fourth innings. Freshman Omar Lopez received the first start of his collegiate career and delivered with a solo home run in the fourth before senior Griffen Herrera hit a solo shot in the fifth creating a one-run ballgame. 

Westmont applied more pressure in the middle innings though, after a three-run fifth doubled their lead to 8-4, Thomas Rudinsky's second two-run home run of the game made it 10-4 Warriors through six frames. 

The Cougars would rally in the seventh, Kim picked up another RBI with a single to center field to score the first run of the inning. Freshman George Christison drove in the second run with a sacrifice fly to left field before freshman David Hays knocked in a run with a single to make it 10-7. Lopez would cap-off the four-run half-inning with the Cougars' third RBI single of the inning, inching them another run closer, 10-8. 

Unfortunately, two-more runs came across for the Warriors in the bottom half as Rudinsky added his sixth RBI of the game, helping Westmont take a 12-8 lead into the eighth inning. 

The Cougars wouldn't go down without a fight in the ninth, however, after Christison reached first on a drop third strike, Hays hit a two-run shot to make it 12-10. Hays' second home run of the season was the fourth Cougar homer of the game. Then with two outs in the ninth, junior Aaron Roose and Tovalin each walked to load the bases for Herrera who grounded out with the tying run in scoring position.

Inside the Boxscore: The Cougars offense continued its strong start to the season racking up 15 hits in the game. Azusa Pacific is averaging 10.5 runs/game and 14.8 hits/game through its first four games.

The Cougars' pop has been on full display in its previous two games combining for seven home runs. Azusa Pacific hit three or more home runs just two times during its shortened 2020 campaign but did reach the feat 15 times in 2019's full 55-game season.

Freshman Omar Lopez made a splash in his first collegiate start, going 3-for-5 with a solo home run, two RBI, and a run scored.

What's Next: Azusa Pacific will play a non-conference doubleheader at Fresno Pacific on March 11th. First pitch for the first game is scheduled for 2 p.m. while the nightcap will begin around 5 p.m. Both games will be streamed here.