The Azusa Pacific baseball team entered the season with goals of competing at a high level and playing deep into the postseason. The Cougars kicked it off by winning five of six games, turning that momentum into a 9-2 record before entering conference play.
The team made its first appearance on the Collegiate Baseball Division II national top-30 ranking on Feb. 23 at No. 22.
The Cougars have received Player, Pitcher or Newcomer of the Week honors five times this year, while senior first baseman Jordan Brower earned honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association as the National Hitter of the Week. The senior hit 11-for-16 with six doubles and six RBIs to earn the award for the week ending March 8. In addition to the national recognition, Brower received PacWest Player of the Week and NCBWA West Region Hitter of the Week honors for the same performance.
On March 6, the Cougars’ pitching turned in the program’s first nine-inning no-hitter since 1980. The effort was led by ace Josh Staumont and finished by the bullpen combination of Billy Sanford, Josh Grajeda and Jonathan Velasco.
The Cougars have started conference play with two series wins, taking three-of-four from both Academy of Art and Point Loma.
“We like to play hard as a team. We play hard and we stress to try to be the best,” Brower said. “We liked being the underdogs in the beginning of the season because we know how good we are and we started off really well to prove to everyone else that we are capable of playing with the best competition out there.”
The team lost its first series of the year, going 1-3 against Fresno Pacific from March 12-14.
“We struggled last week. It was a bit of a wake[up] call. We should be a little more consistent with pitching, but I think it’s all mental,” Brower said. “Hitting, we are doing a great job staying mentally focused and scoring runs.”
For the fifth time this year, Azusa Pacific swept a doubleheader with a pair of wins over PacWest foe Hawai’i Hilo on Saturday.
“The guys are great teammates; they are fun to be around. They work hard for each other. … They have a great ability to overcome adversity,” said head coach Paul Svagdis. “They are able to collectively come together and fight through games and that’s something I noticed over the last 24-25 games.”
The Cougars look to continue their hot start with series against California Baptist, Dixie State and Hawai’i Pacific still on the schedule.
“Hopefully on this back-half, our numbers get a little better and our [defense] starts playing better. You will see our pitching starting to step up,” Svagdis said.