(SAN DIEGO) No. 4 PLNU Baseball won both games of its PacWest doubleheader against Azusa Pacific on Friday, winning 8-3 score in game one and then 7-4 in game two.
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While it might have been Alumni Day at Carroll B. Land Stadium, the afternoon was all about
Scott Anderson.
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Anderson hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the first game of the day before plating another three in the following game by way of three more extra base hits.
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However, early in the afternoon it didn't look like it was going to be Point Loma's day at the plate. APU's starting pitcher, Isaac Mendez, was cruising and took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
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With the Cougars leading 3-0, PLNU's
Eric Smelko woke the Sea Lion bats up in the sixth when he roped a fastball into center for a leadoff single. Anderson also singled before Hashimoto followed suit with an RBI base hit to left field to bring home Smelko.
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APU nearly extended its lead in the top of the seventh, but lefty
Kaden Lewis struck out back-to-back Cougars to get PLNU out of a bases loaded jam.
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Then with momentum on its side following the timely strikeouts from Lewis, PLNU erupted for four runs in the bottom half of the inning.
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Jack Malone,
Owen May and Smelko all walked, before
Esai Santos' sacrifice fly shaved APU's lead in half.
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Anderson then sent the first pitch he saw over the left field fence to put Point Loma up 5-3.
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PLNU tacked on three more runs in the eighth for some valuable insurance, as Malone yanked a ball into the right field corner for an RBI double,
Joey Nicolai's base hit brought Malone home and Smelko's sacrifice bunt pushed the lead to 8-3.
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Christian Williams earned himself a six-out save, striking out a pair in his two innings of work.
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APU then scored in the first inning of game two, but it didn't take long for the Sea Lions to answer back, as Malone's second RBI-double of the day to the right field corner scored Entrekin from second.
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Point Loma broke the tie an inning later in the third with three more runs, beginning with Anderson's RBI-double to the right-center gap.
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Santos scored on an RBI-groundout from Hashimoto before
Hunter Otjen's double that squeezed past the third baseman's glove made it a 4-1 game.
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PLNU put together another three-run inning in the fourth to go up 7-1, as Smelko singled home
Tommy Molina and then Anderson clobbered a two-run homer to center.
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PLNU's game two starter
Ray Cebulski pitched into the seventh and final inning after only allowing one run in his first six, before closer
James Sashin was called upon to collect the final out of the doubleheader.
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Sashin's save was his 14th of the season, which preserved Cebulski's eighth win of the year.
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Point Loma (31-8-1 overall, 20-5-1 PacWest) will now follow the Cougars up the freeway to finish their four-game series in Azusa on Saturday, with a doubleheader slated to begin at 2 p.m.