Junior first baseman Jordan Brower contributed with three hits and four RBIs on the day, including an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth in game one and a three-run walk-off home run in game two. Photo credit: Steven Mercado
Facing a 2-2 count with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Azusa Pacific junior first baseman Jordan Brower had the opportunity in one swing to finish the game that was originally scheduled for seven innings.
The Cougars struggled all game to capitalize on scoring opportunities. But with one full-power swing, Brower put an end to that when he unloaded a home run to right field. This was the team’s first walk-off victory all year.
Saturday, March 8, the Azusa Pacific baseball team swept the Holy Names Hawks in the Cougars’ second straight doubleheader. Brower’s blast gave APU its eighth straight win, putting the team at 6-0 in conference play.
“[Brower] was fouling some balls off, but he finally got a pitch he could handle. And off the bat, we were pretty excited about the outcome,” head coach Paul Svagdis said. “It was nice to see our team go through some adversity and play in a tight game like that in extra innings, and for us to get a sweep against a conference opponent is huge for where we want to go.”
In game one, junior pitcher Adam McCreery picked up where sophomore pitcher Josh Staumont and junior pitcher Zach Hedges left off in the previous doubleheader. McCreery nearly threw a complete-game shutout, going for 8.1 innings. He allowed two hits, no runs and struck out 11 batters.
“I think Adam did a terrific job today. The few hits he gave up were bad hop, infield hits. He almost had a no-hitter. He did a heck of a job on the hill and for him to go toe-to-toe with their No. 1 and pitch like that was dynamite,” Svagdis said.
The Cougars did not find the same offensive production that they did on Friday, putting up six runs as opposed to the 15 runs they had on Friday’s doubleheader.
A strong pitching outing was something the Cougars needed because their offense did not earn a run directly until the bottom of the eighth inning. In the bottom of the second, the bases were loaded for junior center fielder Joseph Daris when he was hit by the first pitch, bringing senior right fielder Matt Kimmel home to score.
In the eighth inning, sophomore third baseman Daniel Martin walked and stole second base. Brower then doubled into right center, scoring Martin. Kimmel followed directly after with a single up the middle to score Brower from second.
McCreery got the hook after walking sophomore infielder Ben Gamba with one out in the eighth inning. He threw a total of 123 pitches in the game. Junior pitcher Luis Martinez came in and closed the game quickly and quietly to earn his second save of the season.
In the second game, junior pitcher Jacob Cage got the start, his first of the year. He went five innings, giving up seven hits and two earned runs. In the sixth, he started by giving up two straight singles. Cage was then replaced by Martinez, who gave up a two-run double to junior infielder/pitcher Zach Verlaan and hit the following batter. Martinez settled down to retire the next two batters and get the Cougars out of the jam.
Six different pitchers took the mound for the Cougars during game two. In the top of the seventh inning, Martinez got sophomore Dusty Zeisler to groundout. Cougar sophomore pitcher Nate Namanny then came in and hit the batter on his third pitch before he was taken out for junior Josh Grajeda. Grajeda finished the frame with no damage done.
“Any time you have solid defense and good pitching, you have a chance. That’s where we are. I like the guys defensively, and how they’ve picked up the pitchers. And I like how our pitchers are throwing strikes and relying on the guys behind them. A lot of the success we’ve seen has been because of pitching coach John Verhoeven. I can’t say enough about his impact on the staff this season,” Svagdis said.
The first run of the game came from Kimmel, who hit a solo homer to get the Cougars on the board in the second inning. The following inning with runners on first and third, Kimmel drove the ball to left center for a double to bring in junior left fielder Ryan Santana from third base. The score was then 2-0.
The two-run double from Holy Names in the sixth inning tied the game at two, eventually forcing the game to extend into the ninth when Brower ended the game with his three-run shot.
Azusa Pacific earned four home wins in its weekend sweep against Holy Names. The Cougars now hold an 8-0 record at home and they will look to extend their home winning streak when they start a four-game home series against Fresno Pacific on Thursday, March 13. They are scheduled for a 6 p.m. start on Throwback Thursday, a 3 p.m. start on Friday and a 12 p.m. start to a doubleheader on Saturday.