AZUSA, Calif. – The Cougars made the final home game of the season a memorable one, slugging five home runs in a 12-9 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay Saturday afternoon at the Cougar Baseball Complex. With the win, Azusa Pacific advances to the Super Regional for the first time since 2019 and the second time in the NCAA era (2015-present).
Aaron Roose hit two home runs in the game, including an inside the park two-run homer to centerfield while A.J. Woodall collected just his second career save after tallying the final four outs to send the Cougars to next weekend's Super Regionals.
How it Happened: The scoring started in the bottom of the second. Omar Lopez started the inning with a double that carried to the base of the wall in right center. Two batters later, there were two on for Casey O'Laughlin, who launched a 1-0 pitch over the netting above the right field fence for a 3-0 lead.
That lead would be short-lived, as Monterey Bay would erupt for four runs on four hits in the top of the third to go ahead. That lead would hold until the bottom of the fourth, when Casey Dykstra hit a line drive over the fence in right to level the game at 4-4.
The biggest turning point came in the top of the fifth. With two on and one out, starter Isaac Mendez left the game with a 3-0 count on the Otters' left fielder. David Wylie came in and threw a ball to load the bases, but induced a ground ball double play to keep the game tied. In the bottom half of the inning, Roose singled, then scored three batters later when Spencer Rasmussen hit a triple off the center field fence. Lopez then homered to left field to make the score 7-4.
After Wylie and David Hays combined to throw a scoreless sixth, George Christison led off the bottom half of the inning with a single. O'Laughlin laid down a bunt which resulted in two throwing errors, plating Christison and putting O'Laughlin at second with nobody out. A sacrifice bunt later, Roose hit a ball into center field that skipped past the fielder and rolled all the way to the fence, resulting in an inside-the-park home run that made the score 10-4. Dykstra would eventually drive in another run with a bases-loaded single before the side was finally retired.
The teams traded solo home runs in the seventh, with Roose hitting his second long ball of the game to make the score 12-5. Monterey Bay would make a game of it in the eighth, scoring four while having a fifth denied by an outstanding throw from center by Dykstra. That brought in Woodall, who struck out a pair over the final 1.1 innings to complete the victory.
By the Numbers: The Cougars' five home runs give them 93 on the season, after hitting 103 last year. It was the second multi-homer game of Roose's career, the other coming in 2021 against Holy Names. Ironically enough, the five home runs in today's game were the exact same number of long balls that helped Azusa Pacific advance to the Super Regionals for the first time back in 2019 when they defeated Cal Poly Pomona at the Cougar Baseball Complex 19-2.  Woodall collected his second career save, the other coming last season at Biola. In the second inning, Roose threw out a would-be base stealer for the 13th time this season. Defensively, Azusa Pacific turned three double plays in the game. All-time, the Cougars are now 11-7 in NCAA postseason play at home.
Up Next: Azusa Pacific (37-17) now advances to the super regional in San Diego, where they will face Point Loma in a best-of-three series next weekend. The winner of that series will advance to the Division II College World Series, becoming the first PacWest school to reach the tournament since 2013.
Cougars Celebrate West Region #2 Championship
Postgame Interview: Aaron Roose, head coach Kirk Nieuwenhuis, and A.J. Woodall
