AZUSA, Calif. – Four outs away from seeing their season come to a close, the Azusa Pacific baseball team rallied for a 6-5 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay, leaving both teams with one loss in the regional after the Otters took the opening game 15-8 at the Cougar Baseball Complex.

Game 1:  Cal State Monterey Bay 15, Azusa Pacific 8

The Otters led wire-to-wire in the first game of the day, scoring two runs in the first on a throwing error.  The lead would swell to 5-0 through a double, a single, and a solo home run before the Cougars were able to get on the board in the bottom of the fourth, when Tido Robles doubled home Will Stroud.  Monterey Bay would continue to pile on the offense in the following innings, putting up one in the fifth, three in the sixth, and one more in the seventh, running their advantage to 10-1.

In the bottom of the seventh, Casey Dykstra led off with an infield single, diving headfirst to beat the throw.  After an error put runners at the corners, Jeffrey Castillo singled home Dykstra with the innings' first run.  Two batters later, Aaron Roose singled in another run, and Stroud followed with a three-run shot over the wall in left, cutting the deficit to 10-6.  Three batters later, Omar Lopez followed with a two-run homer of his own, capping off a seven-run inning, all off Otters' starter Joseph Standley, who had allowed just 15 runs during the entire regular season.

But Cal State Monterey Bay would have the final say, tacking on a two-run home run in the eighth and a three-run blast in the ninth to put the game away.  In all, the Otters scored in every inning except the third in the contest.  Despite the loss, the Cougars put up 16 hits in the game, with seven of the nine batters in the lineup collecting at least two.

Game 2:  Azusa Pacific 6, Cal State Monterey Bay 5

The second game was played in a light drizzle for much of the evening, but the bats continued their torrid pace to start, as Roose hit the first pitch of the game over the left-field wall to give the Cougars their first lead of the day.  It would be short-lived, as the Otters responded with two-run homers in both the first and second innings to claim a 4-1 advantage.  

The Cougars would respond in the fourth.  Robles led off the inning with a double, and Spencer Rasmussen and Lopez would follow that up with back-to-back triples, bringing the Cougars within a run at 4-3.  The team appeared to level the score with a sacrifice fly later in the inning, but the third base umpire ruled that Lopez left the base before the catch, nullifying the tying run.

Monterey Bay would add another run with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the sixth. Trailing 5-3 going into the seventh, Stroud led off with a single.  Two batters later, Castillo walked, putting two runners on.  A ground ball to third by Roose was then thrown awry into the outfield, scoring Stroud and putting the tying run at third base with one out.  Castillo would be thrown out trying to score on a fielder's choice, and the inning would end with the Cougars still down 5-4.  After Declan Kearney struck out two batters – stranding a pair of walks in the process – in a scoreless seventh, the Cougars would finally pull even when Dykstra blasted a two-out solo home run to right, his     14th of the season.  Kearney would walk the bases loaded in the eighth, but again keep the Otters off the scoreboard, sending the game to the ninth at 5-5.

Casey O'Laughlin led the inning off with a single off the right field wall.  Castillo followed with a bunt down the first base line that kept rolling until it stopped in fair territory just shy of first base for a single, putting two runners on.  After a Roose sacrifice bunt, George Christison would successfully execute a sacrifice fly to plate O'Laughlin with the go-ahead run.  Dykstra would come in from center field to strike out a pair of batters in the bottom of the ninth to earn his fourth save of the year.

By the Numbers:  While Merda got a no-decision in game two, the right-hander struck out eight batters over his 4.1 innings of relief work.  In all, the Cougar pitching staff struck out 13 batters in the second game.  Rasmussen had three hits in the nightcap, ending up just a home run shy of the cycle.  With four home runs over the doubleheader, the Cougars have now hit 88 on the season.  Dykstra's home run was the 31st of his collegiate career, tying him with Stephen Vogt ('07) for tenth on the program's all-time list.

Up Next:  With each team now having one loss, the Cougars (36-17) will play one more game against Cal State Monterey Bay (38-15) on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.  The winner will move on to face Point Loma next weekend in the West Region Championship Series.  Saturday's game can be streamed live HERE.