Box Score Box Score
CSUSM baseball did everything but close the game out on Monday at Azusa, as the squad took a 2-1 lead into the ninth but fell to Azusa Pacific 3-2.
CSUSM falls to 7-6 on the year. APU improves to 7-4.
The Cougars have looked good this season, but the team has already lost its share of winnable games, and Monday was a painful addition to that list.
The team got a great effort on the mound from Johnny Holtman. The big righty has been outstanding this year, and he was at his best on Monday, striking out nine in six innings of three-hit, one-run ball.
Holtman left the game at 1-1, with the Cougars' run coming in the fifth on a Johnny Omahen RBI single. After Azusa tied it on a solo home run in the bottom of the inning, the Cougars would retake the lead courtesy of an Austin Coleman leadoff home run in the eighth inning.
Meanwhile, Brett Miller worked two no-hit innings on the mound, and was in line for the win in the ninth. But APU would rally, and with two outs after the potential tying run was thrown out at home, Sammy Soyring delivered a two-run single that sent CSUSM home to a very tough 3-2 defeat.
The squad will look to bounce back this Friday at home in a double-header against La Sierra.
