LA MIRADA, Calif. — With a doubleheader sweep of Biola on Tuesday afternoon, Azusa Pacific is now a pair of wins away from another PacWest title. The Cougars defeated their cross-town rivals by scores of 11-7 and 16-15 to up their record on the season to 5-0 against the Eagles. The two teams shared multiple leads on the day and in game two, the Cougars squandered a 10-run advantage before coming away with a one-run victory.

Will Stroud had himself a big day at the plate driving in a team-high six runs between the two games, while Casey Dykstra and Tyus Santa Anna each homered in game one. Casey O'Laughlin drove in a pair of runs in both games as well while Hayden Merda picked up his first win of the season after a dominant 2.2 innings in which he struck out eight to close out the game two win. 

With the wins, Azusa Pacific (34-14, 23-7) remains tied with Point Loma (41-7, 23-7) atop the PacWest standings going into the final day tomorrow. If the two teams stay tied after tomorrow's games, they will be named co-champions of the PacWest. If the Cougars win both and Point Loma drops a game, the Cougars would be the outright champs and vice versa.

Game One: Azusa Pacific 11, Biola 5

The Cougars jumped out in front in the top of the first, plating a trio of runs in the opening frame. Both Aaron Roose and George Christison scored after a walk and a hit by pitch put the first two runners on in the inning for Azusa Pacific. Omar Lopez drove in Roose on a fielder's choice before Dykstra's two-out RBI single-plated Christison to make it 2-0. An RBI walk from O'Laughlin would tally the third and final run of the frame for the Cougars.

Starting pitcher A.J. Woodall tossed the first two innings scoreless before allowing a two-out run-scoring double in the third to make it 3-1. The Eagles kept coming in the fourth, scoring a pair to tie the game on two RBI singles. Then in the fifth frame, Biola would take its first lead of the game on a two-run home run to left field.

Turning Point: Trailing 5-3 in the top of the sixth, Azusa Pacific tallied seven runs to take back control of the game. The first run of the inning scored on a wild pitch before Spencer Rasmussen's two-RBI single with the bases loaded gave the Cougars a 6-5 lead. Later in the frame with the bases full once again, Stroud's line drive down the right field line would empty the bases putting the Cougars up 9-5. One batter later, Stroud would score on an RBI single to left field from O'Laughlin to cap off the seven-run breakout inning.

Woodall would go seven and two-third innings to record his eighth win of the season, after giving up the two-run home run in the fifth, he retired 10 of the next 12 batters to close out his outing. His pair of strikeouts in the eighth capped off a five strikeout performance before he was pulled after a season-high 116 pitches.

Declan Kearney would get the final out of the eighth before the Cougars tacked on another run in the ninth via an RBI double from Christison to make it 11-5. Kearney would strike out a pair to start the ninth before Biola's two-out rally produced a pair of runs cutting the deficit to four. But with second and third, Kearney would get a full-count strikeout to end the game giving the Cougars a 11-7 victory.

Game Two: Azusa Pacific 16, Biola 15

The Cougars jumped out to an early lead once again. In the third inning, Stroud singled and advanced to second on an error, then one batter later, O'Laughlin brought him home via a double to left center. A groundout to shortstop by Roose plated O'Laughlin for the second run of the inning and gave Azusa Pacific an early 2-0 lead. In the bottom half of the third, Biola put up three runs to take the lead. But, the Cougars responded in the fourth with a bases-clearing single and a two-run home run by Tyus Santa-Anna. 

In the fifth, Dykstra blasted his 12th homerun of the season, a two-run shot over the left field wall to give the Cougars a 9-3 advantage.

The sixth inning proved crucial for Azusa Pacific as Robles plated two with a double down the left field line, followed by a 2-RBI single from Rasmussen. A wild pitch, throwing error and a walk loaded the bases for Stroud, who delivered once again, doubling down the right field line to plate two and grow the Cougars lead to 15-3. 

Biola showed up offensively in the sixth and seventh innings, a two-run homer in the sixth started the comeback before 10 runs in the seventh tied the game at 15 a-piece. 

In the eighth, a sacrifice fly from Stroud brought in the 16th run for the Cougars, which was the 27th and final run of the day. 

Starting pitcher David Hays tossed six innings, giving up five earned runs and striking out seven, and Merda entered in relief getting the final two outs of the seventh before getting the final six outs of the ballgame. In his 2.2 innings of work, Merda struck out the side in the ninth to cap off his eight strikeout performance and secure the 16-15 back-and-forth win for Azusa Pacific.

By the Numbers: Stroud produced a six RBI day (three RBI's a game), while Lopez crossed the plate five times on the day for the Cougars. The two home runs from Azusa Pacific gives them a total of 77 on the season (first in PacWest). Defensively on the mound, the Cougar pitching staff struck out 25 batters faced, while Merda struck out eight of the 13 batters he saw. Roose got on-base in each of the games today to extend his reached base streak to 27 straight games while Dykstra extended his streak to 14 games. 

Up Next: The Cougars and Eagles will face off tomorrow, Wednesday, May 11th in the final doubleheader of the regular season for both teams. Azusa Pacific will honor 10 baseball student athletes as a part of Senior Day after the conclusion of the doubleheader. To stream the games, click here or follow along with live stats here.