AZUSA, Calif. – The Cougar baseball team is developing a flair for the dramatic, staging their third walkoff win in a week to complete a doubleheader sweep of Academy of Art at home Friday evening, taking game one 9-3 before outlasting the Urban Knights 9-8 in extra innings in the late game.

Game One: Azusa Pacific 9, Academy of Art 3 (7 innings)

The offense started early, with Cameron Lee singling to lead off the game.  He would come around on an RBI groundout from Omar Lopez to put the Cougars on the board.  Academy of Art would answer back with a run in the top of the second to tie the game.  The tie would not last through the end of the inning, as Brett Soria got a two-out hit to drive home Will Stroud to give the Cougars back the lead.  Not to be outdone, the Urban Knights again leveled the score with a run in the third.

Academy of Art would have to change pitchers going into the bottom of the third inning.  With two out, Spencer Rasmussen drew a walk.  Stroud came up and drilled a two-run homer to left center to put the home team ahead 4-2.  And this time, the lead would not be relinquished.  The score held at 4-2 until the bottom of the fifth, when with two out and two on, Casey O'Laughlin drilled a pitch all the way to the center field wall to drive in a pair with a triple.  Academy of Art would hit a solo home run in the sixth, but that would be answered in the bottom half, first by an RBI single from Lopez, then a two-run homer by Spencer Rasmussen, his fourth home run in the last four home games.  Stroud had a three-hit game, while Brendan Dixon threw four innings to pick up his fifth win of the season.

Game Two: Azusa Pacific 9, Academy of Art 8 (8 innings)

The second game of the day started off following the script from game one, with the Cougars scoring on an error in the bottom of the first inning and Academy of Art equalizing in the top of the second.  But the Urban Knights called an audible in the top of the third, scoring seven runs on six hits to take an 8-1 lead.  The Cougars started chipping away immediately, as Jeffrey Castillo and Lee hit consecutive doubles to start the inning.  Lee would then score on a single from Soria, who in turn would score on a double by Stroud to cut the deficit to 8-4.

In the bottom of the fourth, Azusa Pacific drew closer still, as they loaded the bases with one out.  Soria singled to drive in one run, then Rasmussen was hit by a pitch to force in another, making the score 8-6.  The Urban Knights would get a double play ball to end the threat, and the fifth inning was quiet.  But with two out in the sixth, the fireworks started up again, as Lee and Soria hit back-to-back home runs–the first of the season, in Soria's case–to level the scores at 8-8.  Both teams then walked a tightrope, stranding two runners each in the seventh inning, while the Urban Knights left the bases loaded in the eighth.  In the bottom half, the Cougars loaded the bases with two out themselves, and O'Laughlin hit a ground ball to short that was bobbled, allowing Spencer Rasmussen to plate the winning run.

By the Numbers:  Soria went 4-7 in the doubleheader and tripled his RBI total on the season, driving in four runs over the two games.  Taylor Ouellette and David Hays combined for five shutout innings of relief in game two, striking out eight batters between them.  With the victory, the Cougars have guaranteed themselves a spot in the first-ever PacWest baseball tournament.  The four-team tournament will take place May 10-12 at Fresno Pacific, with the winner clinching the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

Up Next:  Azusa Pacific (30-17, 21-10 PacWest) will conclude the regular season with one final game against Academy of Art Saturday at 12:00 noon.  The Cougars will honor their 11 seniors at the game, which can be livestreamed HERE.