IRVINE, Calif — Azusa Pacific split a doubleheader with PacWest foe Concordia to take three of four games from the Eagles for the second time this season. The Cougars lost 11-10 in game one but rebounded with a 17-8 win in game two that saw them clinch a share of the PacWest Southern California Pod regular season championship. The Cougars are 14-5 in conference play with five games to play, while Concordia is 10-10 with four games remaining. The Cougars are close to securing their fourth consecutive PacWest crown outright (2017-2019) as the 2020 season was incomplete due to COVID-19.

The Cougars led 10-4 going into the ninth inning of game one when Concordia mounted a dramatic seven-run comeback to win on a walk-off single. Spencer Rasmussen's three-run homer in the fifth gave Azusa Pacific a 5-1 advantage before Griffen Herrera and Osvaldo Tovalin each hit two-run shots in the fifth and eighth. Unfortunately it was all for not as the Eagles final frame saw nine batters come to the plate to record seven runs on six hits to win 11-10.

In game two, the Cougars offense continued to do their thing at the plate. Four Cougars hit home runs, Aaron Roose (solo), Omar Lopez (three-run), Evan Banks (three-run), and Brett Soria (solo) while the offense as a whole tallied 17 hits. Azusa Pacific jumped out to an early lead with a five-run first and never let off the gas scoring in six of the total seven innings. Including a stretch where the Cougars scored 10 runs in the middle innings to increase their lead to 16-1 through the first four and a half frames. The 17th-ranked Cougars would go on to win 17-8 improving to 21-7 on the year with a 14-5 conference record.


How it Happened (Game 1): The Cougars jumped out of the gate with a two-run first inning. Joseph Kim's RBI groundout opened the scoring before a Banks single doubled the lead to 2-0.

Starting pitcher Brendan Dixon tossed three scoreless innings to start the game. After allowing a leadoff double in the first, Dixon struck out the side to leave the runner stranded in scoring position. Dixon punched out two more, one apiece in the second and third, before allowing a run in the fourth via a sacrifice fly.

With their lead down to 2-1, Azusa Pacific went back to work with the bats as Rasmussen sent a three-run blast to right field increasing the Cougars advantage to four runs.

Dixon got through the fifth frame unscathed allowing the offense to tack on more runs in the sixth. Herrera's two-run home run to left, his second of the series, made it 7-1 before Roose doubled in another run to make is a seven-run lead.

An RBI single from Concordia in the bottom of the sixth made it 8-2. Dixon gave up another two in his final frame as he tossed 6.1 innings (season high) allowing four earned runs and striking out six Eagles.

Tovalin's two-run home run to right field added insurance in the eighth for the Cougars. The ninth of the season for him breaks the three-way tie for the most homers on the team.

With a 10-4 lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning, the Cougars didn't record another out. Concordia used six hits and three walks to plate seven runs in the final frame to win in walk-off fashion, 11-10.


How it Happened (Game 2): Azusa Pacific once again broke open the scoring in game two in the first inning. One of two Tovalin doubles in game two scored the first run before a Kim RBI single made it 2-0. Herrera drove in a run on an RBI groundout while a run came across on a wild pitch to double the advantage to four. Casey Dykstra capped off the inning with a sacrifice fly to center field to bring the Cougars lead to 5-0 after the first. 

After Roose's solo shot in the second, Concordia hit a solo homer of their own in the bottom half to make it 6-1. The home run party continued into the third and fourth innings for Azusa Pacific. Lopez's three-run home run in the third made it 9-1 before another three-run blast, this time from Banks, made it 12-1. 

Soria's solo home run to right field balanced out the RBI single Concordia had in the top half of the inning as the Cougars advantage was still 11 runs. A pair of RBI singles from Kim and Rasmussen gave Azusa Pacific its largest lead of the day, 16-1.

Estrella started on the hill in game two and retired nine of the first 11 batters he faced. His only blemish early on was a solo home run in the second frame. Estrella was able to get through four innings in order to qualify for the game decision and in the process he punched out three. 

Concordia's six-run bottom of the fifth inning made it 16-8 before another Cougars run scored on a wild pitch to make it 17-8. Tripp Aversa then shut the door in the final three frames to record his first save of the season. Aversa is no stranger to three innings saves, in which he recorded a handful of them two seasons ago. 

With the 17-8 win, the Cougars clinched a share of the PacWest Southern California Pod championship. The Cougars took three of four from Concordia for the second time this season. In this four game series, Azusa Pacific recorded double-digit hits in each game while racking up a total of 61 (15.3 hits per game). 

Up Next: Azusa Pacific will travel to Point Loma for a doubleheader on Friday, April 23. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. while game two will follow 30 minutes or so later.