ATHERTON, Calif. — Azusa Pacific earned a split in Friday's road doubleheader against Menlo at Cartan Field, falling 6–5 in 11 innings in game one before bouncing back with a 5–0 shutout in game two.
The Cougars showcased resilience on both sides of the ball, responding to a tough extra-inning loss with a dominant all-around performance in the nightcap.
Game One – Menlo 6, Azusa Pacific 5 (11 innings)
The opener turned into a marathon, with Menlo ultimately walking it off in the 11th inning.
Azusa Pacific found itself trailing early after Menlo built a 5–0 lead through five innings, highlighted by a three-run third inning and a solo home run from Oliver Hogan.
The Cougars began their comeback in the sixth when Isaiah Rios launched a two-run home run to cut into the deficit. APU continued to rally in the seventh, stringing together hits from Jacob Freer, Bryce Robinette and Jacob Hayes, with Hayes delivering a two-run double to tie the game at 5–5.
From there, both pitching staffs settled in.
Doug Pyle provided three strong scoreless innings out of the bullpen to keep the Cougars in the game, while APU threatened in the ninth but left the potential go-ahead run stranded.
In the bottom of the 11th, Menlo's Noah Morton delivered the decisive swing, hitting a walk-off home run to give the Oaks a 6–5 victory.
Azusa Pacific finished with nine hits in the loss, with Robinette and Freer each recording two hits, while Rios drove in two runs in the comeback effort .
Game Two – Azusa Pacific 5, Menlo 0
The Cougars responded emphatically in game two, turning to a dominant pitching performance and timely hitting to secure the split.
Blake Hagerty provided the early spark in the second inning, launching a two-run home run to give Azusa Pacific a 2–0 lead. The Cougars added another run in the third on an RBI single from Isaiah Rios before extending the lead to 5–0 in the fifth behind RBI hits from Jacob Hayes and Diego Orozco.
That was more than enough for Casey Spencer.
Spencer delivered his best outing of the season, tossing a complete-game shutout while allowing just three hits and striking out 10 over seven innings. Menlo was held off the scoreboard all afternoon, managing only three total hits against the Cougars' right-hander.
Offensively, Azusa Pacific totaled 11 hits, with Rios leading the way with three hits, while Robinette and Orozco each added multi-hit performances in a balanced attack .
