AZUSA, Calif. – The Cougars opened the PacWest Tournament with a 6-5 win over top-seeded Point Loma, tallying 14 hits offensively while Isaac Mendez turned in eight innings of work on the mound. It was Mendez' longest outing this season, as he threw 117 pitches, striking out seven while only walking one hitter. The Sea Lions only scored in two innings against Mendez.

Cade Marshman, who was just named PacWest Defender of the Year, had three hits while eight different players pieced together hits against the Sea Lions.

How It Happened: Lee quickly got things going for the Cougars, as he led off the tournament with a solo home run to left field to put Azusa Pacific ahead 1-0. The Sea Lions responded with a solo homer of their own in the bottom of the first to tie the game back up heading into the second inning.

In the top half of the second, Danny Yanez was walked and scored thanks to back-to-back singles from Jeffrey Castillo and George Christison to help Azusa Pacific regain a 2-1 lead.

The Cougars found their momentum in the third inning, as All-PacWest First Team selection Mikey Easter sent a ball to left center that had just enough for a solo home run that made it 3-1. 

Azusa Pacific worked off the momentum of Easter's solo shot, as Spencer Rassmussen singled, and Yanez added another base hit. Yanez would eventually score to make it 4-1 off of a fielder's choice.

Although Mendez dealt a three-and-out inning in the bottom of the third, he ran into trouble in the fourth. After Point Loma's Jake Entrekin was hit by a pitch and Bryson Hashimoto singled to right field, Jack Malone hit a three-run homer to tie the game 4-4. The Sea Lions gained its first and only lead of the game as Joey Nicolai singled to right field and advanced on a wild pitch, before scoring on a single by Eric Smelko that put Point Loma on top 5-4. Mendez was able to close out the inning with a strikeout and regained his composure, allowing no runs and only one hit over the next four innings.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Marshman singled to right field with one out, and he got into scoring position by stealing second base. With one away, Omar Lopez knotted the game at 5-5 with an RBI single that scored Marshman. 

In the eighth, Castillo and Lee hit back-to-back singles before Easter knocked in Castillo on a groundout to shortstop, providing the Cougars with the ultimate game-winning run. After a scoreless bottom of the eighth and top of the ninth, the Cougars called upon Kohl Petersen to close things out in the ninth. Petersen delivered, as he pitched a scoreless inning and left the game tying-run stranded on first base.

Up Next: By securing the win today, the Cougars will face the winner of Concordia and Hawai'i Pacific tomorrow at 3 p.m. for Day Two of the PacWest Conference Tournament. If the Cougars win, they will secure their spot in the championship round on Friday. If the Cougars lose, they will play in an elimination game tomorrow night at 7:00 pm.