IRVINE, Calif. — After a doubleheader sweep of Concordia Saturday afternoon, Azusa Pacific improved its winning streak to 14 games. The Cougars won game one, 1-0 before closing out the sweep with a 5-3 win in game two. With the pair of wins, the Cougars improve to 20-10 overall on the season.

The Cougars' pitching staff dominated the Eagles once again as they allowed just three runs across the 16 total innings, including David Hays who tossed six shutout innings to garner the win in game one. Then, Declan Kearney finished off the shutout relieving Hays tossing three innings, not allowing a run and struck out four to secure his fourth save of the year. In game two, Isaac Mendez tossed five strong innings allowing one run before Brendan Dixon tossed an inning (and got the win), before Casey Dykstra recorded his second save of the season to complete the sweep.

Offensively, Aaron Roose tallied a pair of clutch RBIs on the day to give his team the lead for good in both games while Tido Robles' hit a two-run home run in the game two 5-3 win.

How it Happened (Game 1): Neither side truly threatened to score until the fourth frame when Concordia had a runner at third with one out but second baseman Brett Soria made a nice diving play to nab a runner at the plate to keep the game scoreless.

The Cougars capitalized on the momentum and would score in the next half inning on a two-out RBI single from Roose which scored Dykstra to make it 1-0. 

Hays would finish his outing with a strong fifth inning before another out at the plate in the sixth helped the Cougars starting pitcher to complete his day on the mound after six shutout innings.

Kearney entered the game in the seventh and proceeded to hang three more zeroes on the scoreboard including retiring the final seven batters he faced to secure the save and win, 1-0.

How it Happened (Game 2): Azusa Pacific would score first in game two on a fielding error before a sacrifice fly from Soria made it 2-0 in the second inning. 

The Eagles would cut the deficit in half in the fifth inning on an RBI double before Mendez kept the Cougars in front with his fifth and final strikeout to end his outing after five strong innings. Unfortunately, Concordia would tie it up in the sixth scoring a run against Dixon to make it 2-2.

In the top of the seventh, a one-out double from Roose scored Soria from first to give the Cougars the lead back before Robles' two-run bomb to straightaway centerfield increased the advantage to 5-2.

Dykstra, just like his previous two teammates, allowed a run in the seventh but ended the game on a strike out with the winning run at the plate to secure his second save of the season.

By the Numbers: For the first time in three years, the Cougars have three pitchers that have recorded more than one save on the season (Dykstra, Kearney, and Hayden Merda). With Robles' home run, he increased his home run total to nine which is three more than any Cougar while his 30 RBI are also a team-high.

Up Next: Azusa Pacific will travel to Fresno, Calif. to take on the Sunbirds of Fresno Pacific next Friday, April 8th in a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. before game two will begin around 3:00 p.m. To watch live click here follow along with live stats click here.