LA MIRADA, Calif. — Azusa Pacific baseball lost the first game of a PacWest doubleheader to Biola in the 12th inning, 7-3. Before game two was suspended due to darkness, with the Cougars ahead 7-6 in the seventh (and final) inning.

After trailing 3-0 early in game one, Azusa Pacific scrapped their way back into the game tying it in the fifth inning. The game would remain tied at three-apiece for six straight innings before the Eagles won with a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 12th inning.

In game two, Azusa Pacific scored first and led 4-1 midway through the fifth inning. Biola bounced back with five consecutive runs in the fifth and sixth frames to take a 6-4 lead. But the Cougars would retake the lead on a two-RBI single from Joseph Kim in the seventh inning before play was suspended due to darkness. The game will resume with Biola due up trailing by one in the bottom of the frame, but that date and time is still to be determined.

How it Happened (Game 1): Starting pitcher Brendan Dixon retired the first three in the first frame, before a leadoff walk followed by a hit-by-pitch would cost him in the second. An RBI single scored the first run for the Eagles before a two-out, two-RBI single made it 3-0 Biola after two.

The Cougars left the bases loaded in the third, but Dixon worked another scoreless frame to keep the Cougars down by three. Neither team scored in the fourth frame either.

Azusa Pacific got on the board in the fifth. Griffen Herrera led off the inning with a single while Casey Dykstra followed it up with a double to put two runners in scoring position. Brett Soria plated the first run with an RBI groundout, before another run scored on an error to make it 3-2. The Cougars would tie the ballgame up when Aaron Roose scored on a drop third strike passed ball.

Both bullpens held their opponents to zero runs over the course of the next five innings. The Cougars received stellar performances from Isaac Mendez and David Hays out of the bullpen who tossed a combined six shutout innings. Mendez struck out four in 3.1 innings while Hays didn't allow a hit in 2.2 innings and punched out six.

The Cougars offense were held scoreless throughout that span and hit into two crucial double plays that halted momentum in the eighth and ninth innings.

The Eagles finally broke through in the 12th frame with a walk-off grand slam from Brandon Cody to win 7-3.

How it Happened (Game 2): In the nightcap, the Cougars started without a baserunner through three innings before scoring first in the fourth. Spencer Rasmussen singled in the opening run to give Azusa Pacific a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the frame though, Biola knotted the score at 1-1 with an RBI single of their own off of starting pitcher Nick Estrella. 

Both offenses got it going in the fifth when Herrera gave the Cougars back the lead with an RBI double. Roose then traded places with Herrera to make it 3-1 on another RBI double. Osvaldo Tovalin then doubled to make it three consecutive RBI doubles in the inning. Tovalin was the only Cougar with multiple hits in each game.

With a 4-1 lead, Biola bit back five consecutive run in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 6-4 lead.

Down to their final three outs of the game, the Cougars rallied in the seventh. Roose and Tovalin each reached on a one-out walk and single before Kim doubled them both in to tie the game at 6-6. Rasmussen then knocked in the pinch runner Jeffrey Castillo from third base with a sacrifice fly that gave Azusa Pacific a 7-6 lead.

Play was then suspended due to the darkness in the area. This was in large part because game one lasted over four and a half hours which delayed the subsequent second game. The game was resumed on April 28th at Biola in which A.J. Woodall recorded his first career save in a 1-2-3 seventh frame. He struck out the first and last batters of the inning to secure the series split.

The Cougars are now 19-6 on the season and 12-4 in PacWest Conference play.

Up Next: The Cougars will host Concordia this upcoming Friday, April 16th in a PacWest doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. with the second game following around 3:00 p.m.