HONOLULU, Hawaii — What started as a Sunday afternoon first pitch at 2 p.m. HST at Patsy T. Mink Central O'ahu Regional Park Baseball Complex turned into a two day marathon, and Azusa Pacific was still standing at the end.
The Cougars defeated Chaminade 13–12 in 12 innings in a game suspended in the top of the 11th inning due to darkness on March 1, before resuming at 2 p.m. local time Monday at Les Murakami Stadium.
Azusa Pacific appeared in control early, building a 5–0 lead through three innings. Isaiah Rios tripled home a run in the first, and Matt Kurkdjian launched a two run homer in the third to give APU early momentum.
The Cougars stretched the lead to 8–2 in the seventh when Blake Hagerty ripped a three run double down the left field line. But Chaminade answered with a stunning eight run bottom of the eighth, capitalizing on walks, hit batters and timely extra base hits to take a 12–8 advantage.
APU refused to fold.
In the top of the ninth, Hagerty lifted a sacrifice fly, and Tyler Preece crushed a three run homer to left center, tying the game at 12–12 and swinging momentum back to the Cougars.
The game pushed into extra innings before being halted in the top of the 11th due to darkness. When play resumed Monday, both teams traded zeros until the 12th.
Noah Lane sparked the decisive rally with a single and stolen base. Two batters later, Bryce Robinette delivered the go ahead RBI single to left center, giving the Cougars a 13–12 lead.
Hagerty, who drove in five runs at the plate, returned to the mound and shut the door over the final two innings to earn the win. He struck out three and allowed just one hit in relief to secure the victory for APU.
The Cougars finished with 19 hits, including four from Rios and three from Robinette, in one of the wildest games of the 2026 season, one that required patience, resilience and an extra day under the Hawaiian sun.
Inside the Box Score
- Isaiah Rios led the Cougars with four hits
- Blake Hagerty led APU with five RBI.
- Six of the 12 strikeouts racked up by the Cougar pitcing staff came from Joel Tornero
Game Notes
- Rios joins Preece and Lane as the only Cougars to have at least four hits in a game this season.
- Robinette is currently on a seven-game hitting streak.
- Tornero has had 5+ strikeouts in all five of his starts this season.
