AZUSA, Calif. — Azusa Pacific baseball used late-inning scores as the pitching staff blanked Concordia to win 3-0. The Cougars have now won 12 in a row improving to 18-10 overall on the season.

A.J. Woodall led Azusa Pacific with seven strong innings of shutout ball before Omar Lopez's solo home run not only broke up the no-hitter but gave Azusa Pacific a 1-0 lead. Hayden Merda tallied his fourth save of the season which include a pair of hitless innings in relief to secure the 3-0 win.

How it Happened: Woodall toed the rubber and induced a big double play to end the second inning to keep the game scoreless. The southpaw senior kept doing his thing as he stranded one runner on in five of his seven innings of work. Woodall struck out a season-high nine batters and had a season-low in walks with zero. He finished the day with 96 pitches under the belt and it was still tied 0-0.

But, Woodall would indeed get the victory after Lopez broke open the scoring with a solo homer to right-center to give Azusa Pacific a 1-0 lead. The offense struggled out of the gate as Lopez's hit was the first of the game for the Cougars and it was the first run of the game for either side. 

The Cougars would tack on two more, the first via a wild pitch before an RBI single from Tido Robles in the 8th frame gave Azusa Pacific a 3-0 lead. 

Merda relieved Woodall in the eighth and retired all six batters he faced in the final pair of innings to secure his fourth save of the season.

By the Numbers: This win streak is the longest for Azusa Pacific baseball since the 2019 season in which they won 16 straight to start the season. The Cougars struck out a season-high 15 times as the Eagles' pitching staff held them hitless until the seventh. 

Up Next: These two teams face each other tomorrow in another nonconference series in Irvine, Calif. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.