IRVINE, Calif. – The CUI baseball team split Friday's doubleheader with Azusa Pacific, with both teams dominating their respective wins. Concordia currently has the most conference wins in the PacWest, sitting at third place with a 14-8 (.636) conference record directly behind APU at 12-6 (.667). With two wins tomorrow, the Green & Gold could pass the Cougars for second place in the standings.
 
The 2022 squad is now four wins away from breaking the school record for most wins in a single season in the NCAA DII era (since 2016). The current record was set in 2019, when the team gathered 23 wins, and were well on their way to reaching new heights in 2020 with a 17-7 overall record before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
 
Game 1: CUI 1, APU 11
 
In the 150^th all-time matchup between the two teams dating back to 1987, APU was able to get out to an early lead and hold on to it for the rest of the game. CUI's starting pitcher, Evan Larsen, has been dominant as of late, striking out a combined 20 batters in his previous two outings. However, he was only able to strike out one batter on Friday, while also allowing seven earned runs in 3.1 innings on the mound. With the loss, he falls to 2-4 on the season while still leading the pitching staff in games started (10), innings pitched (55.0), and strikeouts (67).
 
Jorge Arellano threw 4.2 innings out of the pen for his longest outing of the season, nearly matching his season total entering the game. The Cudahy, CA native struck out a season-high six batters while allowing one earned run on six hits. Carson Quintana also toed the rubber in the final inning, striking out one batter in 1.0 inning.
 
The offense struggled to figure out APU's starting pitcher, amassing just one run in eight innings against the southpaw. Five Eagles were able to gather hits in the game, including doubles from Will Bonn, Alex Moreno, and an RBI double from Hayden Winters in the seventh inning, which would prove to be their sole run in the game.
 
Michael Dixon continued to swing one of the hottest bats for the Green & Gold, going 3-for-4 with three singles to improve his season batting average to .333.  
 
 
Game 2: CUI 17, APU 6
 
The tide changed in game two, as the Eagles were the first to strike in the bottom of the first inning on a 2-run home run off the bat of Dixon - his fourth home run of the season. They added one more in the bottom of the second inning on a Shane Wallace double to left center field that scored Tristan Hanoian from second base.
 
In the third inning, Richard Castro hit a no doubt home run down the left field line for his team-leading eighth home run of the season.

Richard Castro with his team-leading 8th bomb of the season ?? pic.twitter.com/dZaFRVvm9r

— CUI Baseball (@CUIBASEBALL) April 16, 2022

The Cougars were able to get three runs back in the fourth and fifth innings, cutting the lead to 4-3. However, CUI was able to recover one of those runs in the bottom of the fifth when Wallace scored on a wild pitch.
 
In the top of the sixth, an error in the outfield allowed two runs to score for APU, tying the game at 5-5. The Eagles once again responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame when Dante Catalino scored on an RBI groundout from Fowler, giving CUI a 6-5 lead.
 
The Eagle bats put on a clinic in the seventh inning, scoring an impressive eight runs on seven hits to put the game out of reach at 14-5. The offensive outpour was highlighted by Castro's second home run of the game, this time being a grand slam on a 3-0 count. Castro would finish the game 3-for-5 with 2 HR, 5 RBI, one walk, and two runs scored. He currently ranks fourth in the PacWest in home runs with nine on the season.
 
In total, 11 Eagles combined for 18 hits, while Derek Delgado, Jackson Collins, Wallace, Fowler, Castro, Catalino, and Hanoian all hit a double en route to scoring 17 runs.
 
Matt Des Marets took the mound for CUI in game two, going 4.2 innings on 99 pitches. After running into some trouble in the fifth inning, he was relieved by Noah McBride, who immediately got out of the jam. McBride, Carpenter Pagett, and Tristan Perrin combined for the remaining 4.0 innings, allowing two more runs to score. With the Eagles taking the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, Pagett earned the win - his first of the season.
 

Concordia concludes their series against Azusa Pacific tomorrow, April 16^th, in a doubleheader on the road beginning at Noon. The final home doubleheader for CUI will take place on Friday, April 29^th, where they host No. 4 Point Loma in addition to Senior Day festivities.

Click HERE for the 2022 Baseball Schedule