FRESNO, Calif. -- After sweeping the doubleheader on Friday, the Cougars dropped two to the Sunbirds on Saturday via scores of 12-4 and 7-3. In both games, Fresno Pacific took an early advantage and did not give up a lead all day. These losses ended Azusa Pacific's 16 game winning streak, which was the longest since 2018 when they started their season 16-0. 

George Christison had a 5-for-7 day at the plate, scoring two runs, while Spencer Rasmussen went 4-for-7 with a homerun, his eighth of the season. 

How it Happened (Game 1) - Fresno Pacific took an early 7-0 advantage into the sixth inning before the Cougars' bats began chipping away. With one out in the top of the seventh inning, Brett Soria was hit by a pitch before Jeffrey Castillo went in to pinch run. Aaron Roose singled to left field, advancing Castillo to second. Christison reached on an error to load the bases and Tido Robles hit a sacrifice fly to center to score the Cougars first run of the day. Casey O'Laughlin kept it going with a single to right field to score Roose and Omar Lopez singled to left scoring Christison, giving Azusa Pacific their third and final run of the inning. 

In the top of the eighth, Rasmussen led off with a solo homerun to right field to cut the deficit to 7-4, but the Sunbirds responded, putting up five runs in the bottom of the eighth to expand their lead and seal the game, winning 12-4.

Declan Kearney saw 1.2 innings on the mound for the Cougars, giving up no hits and striking out three. He continues to lead the Cougar pitching staff with a 1.06 ERA, collecting four saves over 17 innings pitched. 

How it Happened (Game 2) - Once again, Fresno Pacific jumped out to an early lead in game two, scoring three runs in the second inning. In the top of the third inning, three consecutive singles from Roose, Christison and Robles cut the deficit to 3-1.

The Sunbirds tacked on two more runs in the third and fourth inning, but Azusa Pacific would close the gap again via a double by O'Laughlin plating two in the fifth. 

Fresno Pacific expanded their lead in the bottom of the fifth via a two run home run to take a 7-3 lead. This lead would hold as the Cougars and Sunbirds each swept doubleheaders to split the series.

With the series split today, Azusa Pacific is now tied for first in the PacWest with Point Loma, each team holding an 11-5 record. 

Up Next: The Cougars will travel to Concordia on Friday, April 15th for a conference doubleheader with game times set for 1:00 and 4:30 pm. The following day (April 16th), the Cougars will be back at home hosting Concordia. The last time these teams faced two weeks ago, Azusa Pacific took three consecutive games from the Eagles.