Opening weekend for the 12th ranked APU Baseball Team ended with two victories and a defeat
Azusa Pacific baseball opened their season on Friday against the Chico State Wildcats, claiming two of the three games in the series.
The first game was on Friday afternoon. Both teams played strong defense to start the game; it was tied 0-0 at the end of two. Cougar pitcher Nick Estrella started off his senior campaign with three strikeouts in those two innings.
Then, in the bottom of the third APU’s bats came alive as Casey Dykstra and Aaron Roose hit back to back solo home runs giving the Cougars the lead 2-0.
The Cougars went on to score more runs in the sixth as the bases were loaded for sophomore Will Stroud who got hit by a pitch for an RBI to bring the runner on third home.
To cap it off, Griffen Herrera homered to left field, making the final score 5-0, as the Cougars pitching staff shutout the Wildcats.
Game two started shortly after the opener ended in the doubleheader. The teams agreed to play only seven innings due to time. Both sides played more top-notch defense throughout the game, as junior pitcher A.J. Woodall took the mound for the Cougars. Woodall threw a career-high nine strikeouts in the game. The Wildcats were able to take advantage of one at-bat against Woodall when Eddie Zavala hit a solo home run to give them the early lead.
The Cougars evened the score in the third after a leadoff walk by true freshman Jeffery Castillo and an RBI single to centerfield by Dykstra.
The Cougars batters stayed patient in the fourth, drawing more walks. First baseman Spencer Rasmussen walked, and Max Tsai came in to pinch run. Tsai stole second and advanced to third off a sacrifice fly to center field. Dykstra came up clutch for the Cougars offense again as he bunted down the first base side for the RBI, sending Tsai home. APU claimed the lead 2-1.
Relief pitcher John Szczesny came in to close the final two innings, notching his first save of the season as the Cougars took game two with a 2-1 victory.
Head coach Paul Svagdis was proud of the way his players pitched in both games.
“They (Estrella and Woodall) did a great job. We’re going to have to rely on them this year,” Svagdis said. “They have a ton of experience and maturity, so it was really nice to see them come out and pitch.”
Game three started on Saturday at noon. Much like the prior two games, the beginning was quiet, as the game remained scoreless through four innings. However, at the top of the fifth, Chico State’s offense showed itself for the first time in the three-game series, scoring four runs. After an RBI single, Willie Lajoie hit a three-run home run to right field to put the Wildcats on the scoreboard.
The Cougars cut the lead down in the seventh, scoring two runs off of solo home runs from Estrella to right field and Robles to left field. APU headed into the eighth down 4-2.
But just as the Cougars closed the gap, the Wildcats came out strong again as Zavala doubled to center, bringing in two runs. Grissom singled down the line to score two more runs for Chico state, extending their lead 8-2.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Cougars were only able to score one run with the bases were loaded. Estrella walked, moving the runners over and scoring one. The Wildcats defense got the last out and the Cougars left three stranded.
Moving into the ninth, the Wildcats bats could not be stopped as they went on to score five more runs extending their lead to 13-3. The Cougars fought back, but ultimately the lead was too great to overcome.
APU still claimed the series victory, winning two of three. The Cougars next game is on Tuesday against Concordia.