Azusa Pacific baseball tied a PacWest record with 11 players selected to the All-PacWest first and second teams for their performances this season. Juniors Osvaldo Tovalin and A.J. Woodall earned PacWest Player of the Year and PacWest Pitcher of the Year honors while head coach Paul Svagdis was awarded PacWest Coach of the Year for the fourth straight season.
Tovalin and Woodall each landed first-team honors alongside five other Cougars: catcher Aaron Roose, shortstop Omar Lopez, outfielder Casey Dykstra, utility pitcher Nick Estrella, and relief pitcher Korey Shepard. While four Cougars garnered second-team honors including, second baseman Brett Soria, outfielder Evan Banks, designated hitter Joseph Kim, and starting pitcher Cory Dawson.
Tovalin won the Triple Crown in conference action, hitting for a .442 average, 10 home runs, and driving in 36 RBI in the 24 PacWest Southern California Pod games en route to winning PacWest Player of the Year. He has started all 37 games at third base and also leads the PacWest on the season in hits (59), RBI (44), runs scored (47), at-bats (149), and total bases (108). All in all this season, Tovalin is hitting .396 with 13 home runs and 44 RBI and reached base in 33 straight games to start the season. His OPS of 1.178 is second-best to Cooper Moore of Concordia (1.213) in the PacWest and he has recorded 20 multi-hit games this season. Tovalin was tabbed as the NCBWA West Region Player of the Week once and PacWest Player of the Week twice during the 2021 campaign. This is Tovalin's third straight All-PacWest first team award.
Woodall earned PacWest Pitcher of the Year after a perfect 7-0 regular season across nine starts. Woodall recorded a career-best 2.15 ERA in over 58.2 innings and leads the PacWest in ERA (2.15), innings pitched (58.2 innings), and is second in strikeouts (60). Didn't allow more than three runs in any of his 10 outings and has three shutout performances while also picking up his first collegiate save against Biola (April 10) tossing just 11 pitches in a 1-2-3 seventh inning to close out the 7-6 win. Honored as the NCBWA West Region Pitcher of the Week and PacWest Pitcher of the Week one time this season. This is Woodall's second straight season garnering PacWest recognition after picking up second team honors in 2019.
Coach Svagdis was tabbed as the PacWest Coach of the year for the fourth consecutive time dating back to 2017. The Cougars won the Southern California Pod this season after winning five of the six PacWest series against Concordia, Biola, and Point Loma carrying a 18-6 record through PacWest action. Azusa Pacific finished with a 29-8 regular season record and currently sit in second place in the West region going into the PacWest AQ Pod Series this weekend behind Northwest Nazarene who have an overall record of 29-7.
Roose was tabbed with first-team honors as a catcher this season after starting 33 games behind the plate. He hit a career-best .347 with 11 home runs and an impressive 41 RBI out of the leadoff spot in the lineup. Led the PacWest and team in walks with 24 while accumulating an on-base percentage of .462 and a slugging percentage of .677. Was a staple behind the plate leading the PacWest in total chances while recording a fielding percentage of .993 (298 TC, two errors). Roose ended the season by launching four home runs in four games against Holy Names en route to winning NCBWA West Region Player of the Week and PacWest Player of the Week. He also hit two grand slams, one against Biola (March 20), the other against Holy Names (May 6).
Lopez enjoyed a fine true freshman season earning first-team honors, starting 33 games at shortstop and hitting for a .365 average. Lopez slugged eight home runs (T-3rd on team) and knocked in 26 RBI for the Cougars. He also held an 11-game on base streak in March and was awarded PacWest Freshman of the Week four separate times this season.
Dykstra earned PacWest recognition for the first time in his career, garnering first-team honors. In 36 starts, Dykstra recorded career-highs in every major offensive category including: batting average (.386), home runs (8), RBI (26), hits (44), doubles (10), and runs scored (36). Dykstra leads the team in on-base percentage (.467) and is third on the team in slugging percentage (.684). Dykstra also was a cornerstone for the Cougars defense in center field, recording a .956 fielding percentage across 91 total chances while notching two outfield assists and one double play.
Estrella earned PacWest recognition for the third time in his career, earning first team honors as a utility pitcher. The senior captain has appeared in 27 games, starting 26 of them on the mound, in right field, or as the designated hitter. In his six starts on the hill, he threw one complete game and recorded a 4.94 ERA over 31 innings pitched. Finished the regular season with a 4-1 record and 31 strikeouts. When not on the mound, Estrella was in the lineup mostly playing right field in which he hit .299 with eight home runs, and 23 RBI. Estrella came in clutch time and time again with a team-high 18 two-out RBI and has been a staple in the middle of the order for the Cougars. Estrella was awarded third team All-PacWest utility pitcher in 2018, and first team All-PacWest as a starting pitcher in 2019.
Shepard was tabbed as a first team PacWest selection as a relief pitcher this season. The freshman has become the go-to-guy out of the bullpen for the Cougars. In 10 appearances in relief, Shepard has a 2.76 ERA in 16.1 innings of work. He hasn't allowed a run in eight of the 10 appearances and is 2-1 on the season with one save. Opponents are hitting just .158 against him (team-best) and his WHIP of .92 is second-best on the team. He won PacWest Freshman of the Week one time this season as this is his first All-PacWest honor.
Soria was given a second team All-PacWest distinction for his performances this season. Soria posted a .355 batting average with four home runs, five doubles, two triples, and 21 RBI across 34 starts at second base. Ranked second in the PacWest in stolen bases with 11 and was never caught stealing. Soria had a career-day at the plate against Point Loma (April 24), going 4-for-5 with seven RBI, which included a two-run home run. Soria also ended the season on a high note against Holy Names (May 6-7), going 7-for-12 (.583) with one home run, five runs scored, four stolen bases, three RBI, two doubles, and a triple. This was his first All-PacWest honor of his career.
Banks also garnered second-team All-PacWest honors as an outfielder for his 2021 campaign. Led the team with a .398 batting average through the regular season in 23 starts and 31 appearances. Recorded five home runs, 16 RBI and a team second-best on-base percentage of .462. In the Cougars series against Concordia (April 16-17), Banks went 10-for-17 (.588), with one home run, six RBI, four runs, two doubles, and one stolen base. He also had a good series versus Point Loma (April 2-3), in which he was 5-for-10 with two home runs, two RBI, and three runs scored. This was Banks' first career All-PacWest honor.
Kim was a second team All-PacWest selection for the second time in his collegiate career. Kim excelled in the DH spot for the Cougars this season, posting a .378 batting average across 34 starts. He ended the season tied in the PacWest top spot with Tovalin in RBI (44), and was tied for third on the team in home runs with eight. Kim played extremely well against Concordia this season going 16-for-31 (.516) with three home runs, and 18 RBI en route to his two PacWest Player of the Week honors, and one NCBWA West Region Player of the Week award.
Dawson enjoyed a good season for the Cougars en route to being selected to the PacWest second team as a starting pitcher. The NAIA Westmont transfer has enjoyed a fine 2021 campaign for the Cougars going 5-1 in nine starts and accumulating a 4.05 ERA in a team second-best 46.2 innings. In five of his nine starts, Dawson has allowed one run or fewer including four shutout outings that amass over 25 innings. His best two performances this season came when he tossed back-to-back complete game shutouts against Point Loma (April 2) and Biola (April 9). He racked up 17 strikeouts in the 14 innings while walking just two in the victories.
Up Next: Azusa Pacific will host six games of the PacWest AQ Pod Series from May 20-22. The Cougars will face Academy of Art and Hawaii Hilo each in a pair of games over the three days. The Cougars' first game of the three-day series is a Thursday, May 20 matchup at noon against Academy of Art. The winner of the PacWest AQ Pod Series will receive the PacWest's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II West Regional.
2021 All-PacWest Selections
