AZUSA, Calif. – After clinching back-to-back wins on Friday, the Cougars pulled off another two wins against Biola on Saturday to sweep the Cornerstone Cup series. Azusa Pacific opened the day with an 8-7 win followed by a comfortable 9-2 win in game four to complete the sweep over the Eagles. The day saw three home runs from the Cougars as Spencer Rasmussen hit a solo home run in game three of the series while Cade Marshman started off game four with a three-run homer and Cameron Lee poured it on with a grand slam in the fourth inning.

Continuing on from last season, the Cougars have beaten the Eagles six games in a row to lead the overall rivalry 129-69, dating back to 1966. The last time Azusa Pacific swept the Eagles in a four-game series was in 2021 and before then, 2007. 

Game One: Azusa Pacific 8, Biola 7

Unlike yesterday's first game of the day, the Cougars kicked off the action right away. To open the first inning, George Christison was walked then back-to-back singles from Mikey Easter and Rasmussen made it bases loaded with one out. Marshman would then be hit by a pitch which forced Christison to score the first run of the game.

In the bottom of the third, Easter doubled to right field and Rasmussen was walked before Danny Yanez' ground out to single advanced both players into scoring position. Marshman collected his second and third RBI with a single through the left side to score both Easter and Rasmussen. Marshman was able to bring the score 4-0 thanks to a single to center field from Carson Collett which advanced him to third base followed by a sac fly from Omar Lopez to bring him home.

Although Biola was able to score one run in the fifth inning and two more in the top of the sixth, the Cougars extended their lead to 5-3 with a solo homer to right field from Rasmussen in the bottom of the seventh.

The Cougars briefly gave up their lead in the eighth as Isaiah Leon hit a grand slam to provide Biola with a 7-5 advantage over Azusa Pacific. However, Jake Vargas maintained his composure by forcing a ground out to third base followed by back-to-back strikeouts to close the inning.

With two outs and runners at first and second, Christison tripled to right field scoring both Bradley Taylor, who was pinch running for Collett, and Allan Camarillo to tie the game 7-7. Cameron Lee then stepped up to the plate and doubled down the left field line to bring Christison home and give the Cougars back their lead heading into the ninth inning.

Vargas came up big for the second day in a row retiring the last three batters of the game to earn the win. Freshman starter Aidan Langley also had a good showing handing out six strikeouts across the six innings he pitched.

Game Two: Azusa Pacific 9, Biola 2

The second game turned out to be a slug fest for the Cougars as they put up 10 hits across six innings of action. Once again, it started early as Marshman homered to left field scoring Rasmussen and Easter to give the Cougars an early 3-0 lead in the first inning,

Then in the third inning, things got a little interesting as Lee was hit by a pitch then reaches second via failed pick-off attempt. After Easter was walked, he stole second and Lee stole third to put them in scoring position during Rasumussen's at-bat. The stolen base ended up working out as a sac-fly to right fly from Rasmussen scored Lee to extend the Cougars' lead to 4-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, Azusa Pacific continued to pour it on. Omar Lopez and Allan Camarillo both singled followed by Christison who was hit by a pitch to make the bases loaded with two outs as Lee stepped up to the plate. And sure enough, he delivered with a grand slam to left center field to bring the score up to 8-0.

The Eagles found one run in the fifth but the Cougars responded with three hits in the bottom of the inning which saw Taylor score again for Collett to make the score 9-1 heading into the sixth inning.

Although the Eagles were able to hit a solo homer in the seventh, Matthew Brock had no problem retiring the final two batters of the game and secure the Cougars' 9-2 win.

Up Next: Azusa Pacific (11-15, 6-5) will remain home next week as they host Hawai'i Hilo for a four-game series at the Cougar Baseball Complex. The set starts with a doubleheader on Wednesday with games scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. while day two of the series with take place on Thursday with another doubleheader at the same times.