AZUSA, Calif. — Azusa Pacific baseball split the first two of a four-game PacWest series versus Hawai'i Hilo on Wednesday night at the Cougar Baseball Complex. With the 3-2 win in game two, the No. 21 ranked Cougars earned their 30th win of the season which extends their streak to seven straight seasons of 30 or more wins(not counting the 2020 season that was cut short due to COVID-19).

Casey Dykstra led the offense with a three-run home run to supply all of the runs in game two, while Brendan Dixon tossed 6.1 strong innings to get his sixth win of the year while Hayden Merda racked up his sixth save of the season.

Game One: Hawai'i Hilo 8, Azusa Pacific 6

Despite an Aaron Roose solo home run to lead off the bottom of the first, the Vulcans would jump out to a 4-1 lead after tallying four runs in the first three innings against starting pitcher Isaac Mendez.

The Cougars would get within one in the fourth inning after a Jeffrey Castillo RBI groundout, and a Dykstra RBI single to center to make it 4-3. 

Hawai'i Hilo scored twice more against Mendez in the fifth and sixth to take a three-run advantage heading into the final three frames.

Trailing 8-3, the Cougars used back-to-back-to-back doubles from Dykstra, Aaron Roose, and Tido Robles to cut the deficit to 8-5. Will Stroud would get another back for Azusa Pacific in the ninth but the Cougars couldn't overcome the Vulcans' lead, falling 8-6.

Game Two: Azusa Pacific 3, Hawai'i Hilo 2

Neither side allowed a hit until the fourth, then in the home half of the inning, Dykstra unloaded on his 11th home run of the season, a three-run shot that cleared the nets in right field. The Cougars' three hits in the inning were half of the total they had in the game.

With a three-run advantage, Dixon tossed six scoreless innings to start his day while not allowing a baserunner until a single in the fourth. After a leadoff double in the fifth, Dixon picked off the runner at second base before tallying another scoreless frame. He would strand a runner at third base to end his sixth scoreless inning as well. Dixon allowed an earned run in the seventh before he was relieved by Merda.

The hard-throwing right-hander got the first two out he faced in the seventh before retiring the first two in the eighth as well. A walk and two singles with two outs in the sixth scored a run to make it 3-2 before Merda got a groundball out to strand a pair in the inning. In the ninth, Merda tallied two of his three punchouts in a clean 1-2-3 frame to earn his team-high sixth save of the season.

By the Numbers: After reaching base in each game today, Roose's reached base streak was extended to 23 straight games. Dykstra has now reached base in 10 straight games after going 4-for-7 with a home run and a four RBI.

Up Next: The Cougars and Vulcans face off again tomorrow, Thursday, April 28th. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. before game two will begin around 5:00 p.m. The live stream can be found HERE.