[Game 1 box score] [Game 2 box score]

SAN DIEGO - Point Loma and Azusa Pacific split a doubleheader behind strong starting on Friday, Mar. 15, with APU winning the opener 6-3 and PLNU taking the nightcap 5-2.

The split puts PLNU at 9-12 on the season and even in the Pacific West Conference at 7-7. Azusa Pacific is now 5-15 and 3-7 in the PacWest.

Game 1
Zachary Hedges (1-3) threw a complete game allowing just eight hits and three runs (one earned) to lead APU to a 6-3 win in the opener.

Brendan Casey went 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scores and three RBI to pace the Cougars, which scored their each of their first four runs with two out. Five different student-athletes for APU registered multi-hit games as the Cougars outhit the Sea Lions 13-8.

Trey Hunt went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base to lead PLNU.

Tyler Garkow took the loss to fall to 2-4 on the season. He allowed 11 hits and four runs, while striking out four in seven innings of work.

Garkow cruised through the first two innings and quickly recorded the first two outs in the third inning before running into trouble as the next four batters got hits. Casey doubled in Dusty Sanderson and then came around to score on a single by Danny Gonzalez to take a 2-0 lead.

PLNU would tie the game on a RBI-double by Hunt in the third and a run-scoring single by Kyle Desimone in the fourth. APU would take back the lead on with another two-out, two-run rally in the fifth take a 4-2. PLNU cut the deficit back to one in the seventh on a RBI-single by AJ Derr. In the bottom of the eighth, PLNU would get a runner to third with two outs but could not get that elusive two-out hit to score the run. Casey would belt a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to add two insurance runs as the game would end 6-3.

Game 2
Mickey Dunleavy (1-3) picked up his first win in a Sea Lions uniform by allowing just two runs (one earned) and six hits while striking out 10 in a complete game effort to lead PLNU to the 5-2 victory.

"Mick was pretty darn good today," said PLNU head coach Joe Schaefer. "We knew that he was capable of pitching that way all season we just hadn't seen it yet. In his last start at Grand Canyon there was a lot of progress made and that manifested its self today.

"He was throwing all three pitches for strikes and was commanding the zone really well," Schaefer continued. "We had to have that game, and he gave it to us."

The Sea Lions' bats supported Dunleavy with two runs in the second and three more in the fourth. Andy Littlefield got the start at first base and came up big with a one-out, two-run double in the second. He finished the game 1-for-2 with a double, walk and two RBI. Zach Allen had a bases loaded single in the fourth to drive in two runs, and Marcoux added an insurance run with a double to score Littlefield and put PLNU in front 5-1.

"We tried to mix up the lineup and create a spark offensively because we have been stagnant the last few games," Schaefer added. "A couple guys came through with big swings when we needed it. Good teams need to have two-out hits and two-out RBI and we got that in game two."

Tyler Nordgren and Clinton Harwick each scored two runs for PLNU. Matt Kimmel was 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored to lead APU. Michael Finnigan (1-3) took the loss after surrendering five runs in four innings of work.

Next games
These teams will get back together for another PacWest Conference doubleheader on Saturday, Mar. 15 starting at noon.