California Baptist University
37-11, 27-7
Azusa Pacific
30-18, 25-9
Close Call
5/6/2016 10:07:00 PM | Baseball
Down two runs with two outs and a runner on base in the bottom of the ninth, Borson smashed a 2-0 inside fastball from the Cougars closer and sent the pitch into what appeared to be home-run territory. Instead, the ball bounced off the top of the right-field fence and went for a run-scoring double, and instead of a tie game, the Lancers still trailed APU by one.
It would remain that way until the end, as the Cougars came away with the final out and escaped Totman Stadium with an 11-10 win on what was a wild night.
CBU drops to 37-11, 27-7 in conference and Azusa Pacific improves to 30-18, 25-9. The conference championship all comes down to Monday, as the Cougars host the Lancers for a nine-and-seven inning doubleheader in Azusa at noon.
CBU can clinch the conference championship with one win on the day, while APU needs to win both to secure the conference championship for itself.
Early on Friday, it appeared the Lancers were on the way to their one-needed victory in the rivalry series. They hit three of their four home runs in the game in the first two innings.
Ryan Williams cleared the bases – set up by a Bryce Macy single and A.J. David double – with a three-run bomb in the first for a 3-0 CBU lead. Mark Sanchez led off the second with a solo homer and then Stephen Lohr hit a three-run shot later on in the inning, scoring Jake Gallaway and Macy, who had both singled earlier, to make it 7-0.
What had started as a home-run derby (with six home runs in the game overall) turned into a battle of the bullpens. Fourteen different pitchers (nine for APU, five for CBU) made appearances in the near three-and-a-half-hour game Friday.
The Cougars scored nine-straight runs, with seven coming on a two-out rally in the third.
Sanchez brought the Lancers within a run, 9-8, with a sacrifice fly in the fifth, but APU bought some insurance with two runs in the eighth for an 11-8 cushion.
David cut into the deficit again with a solo homer in the bottom half of the frame, and Borson provided his run-scoring double in the bottom of the ninth before the final out was recorded.
Macy (3-for-5), David (3-for-5) and Sanchez (3-for-4) all posted three-hit games for CBU. Macy scored twice, David came home on two occasions, as well, and drove in a run, while Sanchez plated two and scored once himself. Borson went 2-for-3 with his RBI.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jorgenson, Hayden (2-0)
L: Gonzales, Patrick (6-1)
S: Sanford, Billy (7)
Batting:
2B: Goudreau, Mychael 1 ; O'Connor, Pablo 1 ; Gomez, Justin 1
HR: Tovalin, Adrian 1 ; O'Connor, Pablo 1
RBI: Goudreau, Mychael 1 ; Tovalin, Adrian 2 ; O'Connor, Pablo 1 ; Reyes, Rene 1 ; Franco, Michael 1 ; Bennett, Cam 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Tovalin, Adrian 1 ; O'Connor, Pablo 1 ; Dergazarian, Mitch 1 ; Gomez, Justin 3 ; Garrett, Steven 1 ; Gamble, Grant 1 ; Reyes, Rene 1 ; Franco, Michael 1 ; Bennett, Cam 1
CS: Goudreau, Mychael 1
Batting:
2B: David, A.J. 2 ; Chavarria, Antonio 1 ; Sanchez, Mark 1 ; Borson, Sheldon 1
HR: Lohr, Stephen 1 ; David, A.J. 1 ; Williams, Ryan 1 ; Sanchez, Mark 1
RBI: Lohr, Stephen 3 ; David, A.J. 1 ; Williams, Ryan 3 ; Sanchez, Mark 2 ; Borson, Sheldon 1
SF: Sanchez, Mark 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Macy, Bryce 2 ; Lohr, Stephen 1 ; David, A.J. 2 ; Williams, Ryan 1 ; Chavarria, Antonio 1 ; Dabney, Garrett 1 ; Sanchez, Mark 1 ; Gallaway, Jake 1
SB: Norris, Zack 1
HBP: Montoya, Andrew 1
PO: Williams, Ryan 1
