PACWEST BASEBALL WEEKLY NOTEBOOK
IRVINE, Calif. -- Dixie State spoiled Azusa Pacific’s perfect start to the season, but the Cougars won the series anyways, taking 3 of 4 games in St. George, Utah.
The Cougars swept the Trailblazers in the opening doubleheader as Austin Russ went 5 for 6 with two walks and hit two home runs and a double for six RBIs in the two wins. On Friday, Dixie State put an end to the 17-game winning streak with a 14-3 win over the Cougars as Jayden Murray picked up his first win of the season on seven innings pitched with just two earned runs allowed. Azusa Pacific won the series finale as Pablo O’Connor went 3 for 4 with three runs, three RBIs, two walks and a double.
California Baptist moved into first place in the PacWest standings by winning the first three games of the series against Holy Names. The Lancers put 21 runs on the board in the second game of the series as Luke Navigato went 3 for 5 with three runs and three RBIs. The Lancers finished with 10 extra-base hits by nine different players in the win.
Academy of Art visited Concordia last week for a four-game series that finished in a split after the Urban Knights swept Saturday’s doubleheader. In the Urban Knights’ 8-1 win, Evan Ray went 3 for 5 with a run and an RBI. Jackson Murphy and Zak May also hit home runs in the game to help Academy of Art improve to 3-5 in conference play. There are now seven teams in the PacWest standings that already have three conference wins this year. Biola has the second-most wins in the conference with six.
Azusa Pacific looks to bounce back from its first loss of the season with a four-game series at Fresno Pacific. The Sunbirds are 6-4 on the season heading into the series on Thursday followed by a doubleheader on Friday.
Dixie State hopes to continue its momentum into a series with Academy of Art, after serving Azusa Pacific its first loss. The Urban Knights are fresh off a split series against Concordia, looking to battle with Dixie State in back-to-back doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday.
Concordia hosts Holy Names this weekend to continue its home stand starting on Thursday at 2 p.m. Hawai’i Pacific takes on No. 13 California Baptist in a three-game series hoping to give the Lancers their first PacWest loss of the season. The Sharks are 9-5 on the season and 3-3 in the PacWest.
Point Loma continues its Hawaiian road trip with a four-game series at Wong Stadium hosted by Hawai’i Hilo. The Vulcans look to add another PacWest win to their 1-3 record, 5-7 overall as they host the Sea Lions.
Weekly Awards for the week of Feb. 26-March 4
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Austin Russ, Azusa Pacific
INF, Jr., 6-4 -- Valencia, Calif.
Russ was virtually unstoppable for Azusa Pacific in its trip to Dixie State last week, where the Cougars won three of four games. Russ went 8 for 11 at the plate with three home runs, a triple and a double for 10 RBIs and five runs in four games. In the series-opening doubleheader, Russ went 5 for 6 with two walks and hit two home runs and a double for six RBIs. In the series finale, Russ drove in four more runs on three hits, finishing a double away from the cycle as he went 3 for 4. He is now batting .412 on the season with five home runs and 16 RBIs.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Micah Beyer, Biola
RHP, Sr., 5-11 -- Chino, Calif.
Breyer earned his third-consecutive win of the season against Hawai`i Hilo, throwing eight innings of one run ball. The senior scattered four hits and one walk as he struck out 12 of the 30 batters he faced. It is the second time this year that he has reached double-digit strikeouts in a game this year after punching out 14 against Bethesda. Beyer brought his ERA on the season down to 1.93 with a 3-0 record. He has struck out 40 batters in 28 innings pitched in four games this year.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Ryan Gallegos, Biola
UTIL, Fr., 5-8 -- Lihue, Hawai`i
Gallegos went 6 for 16 on the week as Biola won three of four games against Hawai`i Hilo. He had a hit in each of the three wins, boosting his batting average on the season to .349. In the second game of the series, he went 3 for 5 with a double and a run scored. In the third game, he hit his first collegiate home run, a two-run shot that proved to be the difference in a 2-1 win for the Eagles. He had another RBI in the series finale as he went 2 for 4 with two runs.