AZUSA, Calif. - Azusa Pacific swept conference rival Point Loma in a two game doubleheader on Friday. Fantastic starting pitching from the southpaw duo of A.J. Woodall and Cory Dawson that combined to toss 14 of the 18 innings this afternoon allowing just one run between the two of them. The Cougars offense did the rest helping them improve to 16-3 on the season and stay firmly in first place of the PacWest with a 9-1 conference record.

In game one, Woodall was excellent as he threw seven innings of one-run ball to get the win. Woodall tallied five strikeouts and allowed just one free-pass on a hit-by-pitch in the sixth inning. A solo home run from Evan Banks got the Cougars rolling on offense while Osvaldo Tovalin and Casey Dykstra each drove in two-runs. The Cougars never trailed in the game and won by a score of 8-5. 

Dawson threw a complete game shutout in game two and allowed just five hits. The offense supported Dawson with a huge seven-run fifth inning. Azusa Pacific did not even have their first base runner until that fifth inning, in which a Joseph Kim walk started the rally. Spencer Rasmussen and Nick Estrella each had a two-run home run in the frame. Estrella led the Cougars in RBI on the day with three. The fifth inning fueled the 7-0 Cougar victory.

How it Happened (Game 1): After stranding two runners on base in the bottom of the first inning, the Cougars opened scoring in the Saturday doubleheader with an Evan Banks solo home run in the second inning. This marked Bank's first home run of the 2021 campaign. 

Woodall, the starting pitcher for the Cougars, had the strikeout stuff working early. He tallied three strikeouts in the first two innings with no runs.

The Sea Lions answered by scoring their first run in the third inning, as Michael Whiteside drove in the run via a groundout to shortstop to tie the game 1-1. Woodall came right back with scoreless innings in the fourth and fifth inning, which included picking off a runner from first base as well as striking out the final hitter looking in the fifth inning.

The Cougars were held scoreless by Sea Lions starting pitcher Zach Noll in the fourth, yet respondedin the fifth inning. With two-outs, Osvaldo Tovalin had an RBI-single in which Brett Soria scored from second base. Just two pitches later, Nick Estrella drove home Tovalin with an opposite field double off the right field wall.

The Cougars continued their offense in the sixth as they loaded the bases with Casey Dykstra coming up to the plate. Dykstra hit a sacrifice fly to deep center as Griffin Herrera scored. Later in the inning, again with the bases loaded, Osvaldo Tovalin walked to drive in another run. The Cougars now extended their lead to four in which the score was 5-1. 

After an impressive seven frame performance, Woodall ended his day on a seven-pitch inning. He tallied five strikeouts on seven hits while allowing just one run and has now allowed just one run in the last 14 innings pitched. 

The Cougars capitalized on offense once again in the seventh inning. After two singles and a hit by pitch, the Cougars had the bases loaded. Dykstra picked up his second RBI on the day as he was hit by a pitch. Soria then played small ball in which he drove in Griffin Herrera via a fielder's choice. Aaron Roose topped off the three-run inning by driving in Banks with an RBI single making it 8-1.

David Wylie came out of the bullpen in relief of Woodall in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Sea Lions did not fold in which they followed the Cougars three-run inning with one of their own on a three-run homerun from Otto Kemp. With the home run, the Cougars lead was shortened to four as the score was 8-4. 

The Sea Lions added one more run in the ninth inning on a solo home run with one out. Dykstra then came in relief of Wylie, looking to end the game for the Cougars. In which he did just that retiring both batters he faced to give Azusa Pacific the 8-5 game one victory. 

The Cougars saw offensive production from up and down the lineup as Tovalin, Omar Lopez, and Banks all contributed two hits.

How it Happened (Game 2): Early on in the game, it was shaping up to be a pitchers duel. Dawson, the starting pitcher for the Cougars, looked impressive to begin the game in which he allowed no runs, no hits, and had two strikeouts in the first three innings. Dawson even worked around two defensive errors. 

The Sea Lions had impressive starting pitching in the beginning innings as well, as they sent Nathan Garkow to the mound. Garkow started with three scoreless innings while adding four strikeouts on no hits. 

The Sea Lions were threatening in the fourth as two straight two-out singles left them with runners on first and third. However, Dawson worked his way out of the inning with a flyout to keep the game scoreless.

Garkow then pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fourth and Dawson followed suit with a 1-2-3 inning of his own in the top of the fifth. 

The turning point in game two for the Cougar offense was in the bottom of the fifth inning. Azusa Pacific got their first base runner of the day, which was a Kim walk. Kim then stole second and advanced to third on an errant throw. Herrera drove Kim in with a sacrifice fly to left-center field. The Cougars grabbed the 1-0 lead, without a hit. The first hit of the game for the Cougars came from Lopez with two outs in that same inning. Lopez came around to score on a two-run home run from freshman Spencer Rasmussen, his second of the year. 

Following Rasmussen, Soria continued the two-out rally with a double down the line. Tovalin and Roose reached base directly after to fill up the bases. With Estrella up to bat, Soria scored on a wild pitch. In that same at-bat, just a few pitches later, Roose also scored on a wild pitch. Estrella then hit a no-doubt two-run home run to left field. Throughout his at-bat, four runners scored. This put the Cougars up on the Sea Lions with a significant lead of 7-0. Six of the seven Cougar runs scored in the bottom of the fifth came with two outs. 

Following the Cougar offensive outburst, the Sea Lions threatened by having the bases loaded with just one out in the sixth inning. However, Dawson went on to strikeout the final two batters of the inning to keep his shutout intact. Those were his fifth and sixth strikeouts of the game. 

Dawson secured the complete game shutout in the seventh inning as he got Easton Waterman to fly out to right field for the final out. He ended his day with seven strikeouts while allowing just five hits on 89 pitches. 

In game two, the Cougars saw four of their seven runs scored come from home runs off the bats of Estrella and Rasmussen. 

Inside The Box Score: The Cougars needed just four pitchers in both games of the doubleheader. This allows for plenty of arms to be available the rest of the Point Loma series. 

The need for only four pitchers came from excellent starting pitching performances from Woodall (game one) and Dawson (game two). For Woodall he is 4-0 and has pitched in at least six innings in his last four starts. He now possesses a 1.11 season ERA. As for Dawson, he improves to 3-0 on the year and improves his season ERA to 3.70. 

Azusa Pacific capitalized on walks throughout both games, as they drew four in game one and five in game two. Comparatively the Cougar pitching staff issued just one walk through 16 innings on Friday. 

Azusa Pacific saw production from all over the lineup in both games. Nine different batters tallied hits for the Cougars while five different Cougars drove in runs. Receiving production from all-facets of the lineup is something they will look to continue to replicate as the season progresses. 

Up Next: The Cougars will travel to Point Loma to finish up the four-game weekend series tomorrow with a doubleheader. First pitch of game one is set to begin at 12:00 PM, the second game will start shortly after the completion of game one at around 3:00 PM. The game can be streamed live using this link.