SAN DIEGO-Dramatic finishes with plays at the plate concluded in 3-2 finishes on both ends of the Point Loma Sea Lions (11-1 overall, 1-1 PacWest) double-header split with the Azusa Pacific Cougars (6-8 overall, 1-1 PacWest) Friday afternoon at Carroll B. Land Stadium.

And while the razor thin margins could have swung either way based on the final play of each game, the Sea Lions dropped the first game 3-2 in nine innings before bouncing back with a 3-2 win in the 7 inning game two.

Despite the records heading into the game, the Sea Lions knew the conference foe, and pre-season favorite to win the PacWest, Cougars would be a tough test.

Game 1 lined up PacWest Pitcher of the Week Baxter Halligan for the Sea Lions against the Cougar's PacWest Pre-Season Pitcher selection A.J. Woodall.

The two-southpaw's traded zeroes into the fifth before Jack Malone reached on a two-out infield single in the bottom of the inning. An errant throw during the play placed Malone on second and he was immediately cashed in by Otto Kemp.

But Azusa answered right back as Aaron Roose's two strike single setup up Tido Robles' two-run homer to give APU the lead.

Woodall locked in over the sixth and seventh innings before turning it over to the bullpen.

The APU offense tacked on an important insurance run in the top half of that seventh inning, loading the bases with one out. After Connor Hill got a key strikeout against Casey Dykstra, the only batter he faced, APU scratched across a run prior to Jonathan Kozasky shutting the door.

Azusa's reliever Declan Kearney cruised through the eighth before Point Loma created a rally.

Down 3-1 heading into the ninth, Easton Waterman delivered a one-out single. With two outs, Seth Ryberg was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second.

Freshman Jakob Christian smoked a ball into the left-centerfield gap, scoring pinch-runner Jason DuMont easily from second. But as APU's left-fielder Casey O'Laughlin slipped to the ground, Ryberg rounded third. O'Laughlin's relay throw found shortstop Jeffrey Castillo in plenty of time to throw home to Roose who secured the hop and applied the tag to prevent the run.

PLNU bounced right back less than 30 minutes later, but APU brought their momentum into the very first inning. Dykstra and O'Laughlin blasted back-to-back solo homers with one out in the inning to give APU start Isaac Mendez a 2-0 lead.

Point Loma's response came in the bottom of the inning with Halligan delivering a two-out knock before scoring on Scott Anderson's RBI double.

Both starters would settle in, with Dylan Miller blanking APU over the next four innings.

Mendez was equally impressive, retiring 13 consecutive batters into the 6^th inning before plunking Adam Axtell to snap the streak.

With Point Loma still trailing 2-1, a pinch runner was caught stealing and a groundout put the Sea Lions down to their final four outs.

But Kemp demolished an offering from Mendez well beyond the left field fence to tie the game and give Point Loma a burst of energy.

Zach Veen, who entered in the 6^th and struck out the side, held APU scoreless in the seventh as well.

Anderson sparked the inning against Mendez in the bottom of the 7^th, singling into center field.

After one was out, Ryberg singled down the left field line to move Anderson to third.

With the infield drawn in, Christian had a chance to play the hero again. His ground ball to short activated Anderson toward the plate and the APU throw bounced out of the catcher's glove, sending the Sea Lions into celebration.

The back-to-back 3-2 decisions with the final play coming at the plate sets up for a thrilling series finale as the teams travel to Azusa Pacific for two nine-inning games on Saturday. First pitch at Azusa is set for 11:00am.