AZUSA, Calif. - Deion Sanders, the 2023 Sports Illustrated Man of the Year, is partially credited with the quote, "If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play well." That proved true for the Azusa Pacific baseball team on Thursday night, as the Cougars debuted brand-new off-white uniforms and opened a four-game weekend series with a 7-1 win over San Francisco State.

Isaac Mendez delivered on the mound for the Cougars, as the starting pitcher went five and a third innings, allowing just one run and three hits while punching out a career-best 10 batters to earn his first win of the season. Mendez was locked in from the get-go, striking out four of the first five hitters he faced. He also showed the ability to limit damage and remained poised, as he was able to hold the Gators to just one run scored in the top of the second inning, despite the visitors having the bases loaded with no outs. 

The Cougar offense provided plenty of run support in the bottom of the third inning, scoring six runs on five hits. Ethan Toyama led off the third with a single for his first hit of his Azusa Pacific career, and Cade Marshman followed with an RBI double to quickly tie the game up at 1-1. After Will Medina walked, Spencer Rasmussen drove in Marshman with an RBI single to give the Cougars a 2-1 lead. Rasmussen's single was the first of three consecutive base hits for the hosts, as Omar Lopez scored Medina with a single, and the lead increased to 4-1 off of an RBI single from Carson Collett that brought Rasmussen across. The Cougars then took advantage of a Gators' error, which allowed Lopez and Collett to score to make it 6-1 Cougars.

In the top of the sixth, San Francisco State showed some signs of life at the plate, as the Gators had runners on first and second with one out. The Cougars turned to Zachariah McCorvey out of the bullpen, and he struck out the first batter he faced, and then shut the door on the inning by forcing the second hitter into an inning-ending fielder's choice.

McCorvey would then hand the ball off to Alfredo Frey in the seventh inning, and Frey would post three innings of scoreless work to earn the save, allowing just two hits and striking out a pair of Gators.

Marshman provided an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, as he drove home Jeffrey Castillo on an RBI single.

Marshman, Toyama and Rasmussen turned in multi-hit games for the Cougars, as Toyama and Rasmussen finished 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Marshman was 2-for-5 and drove in two RBI. Marshman and Castillo each had a stolen base in the game. 

Up Next: The series continues with a doubleheader set to start at 1:00 pm in Azusa tomorrow. The first game of the doubleheader will be at 1:00 pm, with game two scheduled to start about 40 minutes after the conclusion of game one.