NAMPA, Idaho — Azusa Pacific saw their 10-game winning streak come to a close with a loss to No. 2 seed Northwest Nazarene in the West Regional by a score of 3-2. With the loss the Cougars will face Western Oregon tomorrow in an elimination game at 12:00 p.m. (MDT) / 11:00 a.m. (PDT).

The Cougars pitching saw starter Brendan Dixon throw 4.1 innings and David Hays finish the remainder 4.2 that held the Nighthawks to just three runs. In particular, Hays was remarkable in relief, punching out a career-high 12, allowing just one hit and no runs. Unfortunately, counter part Sasha Jabusch tossed a complete game in the victory giving up just two runs on solo home runs from Nick Estrella and Omar Lopez.

How it Happened: The Nighthawks got on the board first in the opening frame with back-to-back doubles against Dixon that scored a pair with two outs to make it 2-0. 

Estrella's 10th home run of the season brought Azusa Pacific back within a run in the second inning. He joins four other Cougars in double digits in home runs this season (Tovalin, Roose, Dykstra, and Lopez). Before the Cougars tied it up on a Lopez home run to right center in the fourth, it was the true freshman's third straight game with a long ball.

Dixon settled into the game after the first inning retiring nine of 10 straight batters to get through the fourth inning. Northwest Nazarene jumped out in front again in the fifth frame on a leadoff solo home run to left field.

After Dixon struck out one and hit the next batter, Hays came into the game and dominated the Nighthawks lineup from that point on. He retired two straight to get out of the fifth with punch outs before tossing four more innings in relief. Over those four innings, Hays faced 16 batters and retired 14 of them, 12 of which came via the strike out which was his career-high.

The Cougars threatened to tie the game in the eighth inning when Griffen Herrera lined one to deep left field but a leaping grab at the base of the fence kept the Nighthawks in front 3-2 and continue to stall the Cougars offense.

Azusa Pacific went down in order in the ninth to end the ball game as Jabusch recorded his first complete game of the season.

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE WITH AZUSA PACIFIC HEAD COACH PAUL SVAGDIS


Up Next: Azusa Pacific will face Western Oregon in an elimination game tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. (MDT) / 11:00 a.m. (PDT). For more visit the Tournament Central. Live stats can be found here, while the game can be viewed on the live stream here. If you would like to purchase tickets for the game, click here.