Box Score SAN MARCOS, Calif. – A three-run seventh inning helped propel Azusa Pacific to a 6-2 victory over the Cal State San Marcos baseball team in the Cougars' regular season finale on Friday afternoon at CSUSM Baseball Field.

The Cougars wrap up the regular season at 29-16 overall. They will head into next weekend's Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) Conference Tournament as the No. 3-seed and will face No. 4-seed and host Fisher College on Friday, May 2 at 1:00 p.m. PT at Fraser Field.

APU improves to 26-16 overall. Lefty Adam McCreery (5-2) worked six solid innings for APU, surrendering just a single earned run on two hits while striking out four. The APU staff gave up just five hits all afternoon

Terrence Buchanan and Dylan Costello both went 2-for-4 for CSUSM. Adam Tapia tallied CSUSM's only other knock, a pinch-hit single in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Buchanan put the Cougars on the board in the bottom of the first, drawing a one-out walk before stealing second. The throw from the catcher sailed into centerfield and Buchanan took third on the error. Brandon Bentson's groundout to the right side allowed Buchanan to score and make it 1-0 in favor of CSUSM.

APU started the third inning with back-to-back hits and it looked like APU would take the lead as Justin Brower launched a deep-fly ball into right center.

However, Noah Buchanan tracked the ball the whole way, leapt at the warning track and snagged it above the wall, robbing Brower of his eighth homerun of the year.

Matt Kimmel eventually scored Mitch Dergazarian with a groundout to tie it at 1-1.

Brower helped APU take its first lead in the fifth inning with an RBI single through the left side.

CSUSM tied it in the bottom half of the frame as T. Buchanan's groundout with the bases loaded brought home Costello to tie the game at 2-2. Brower, also the APU first baseman, appeared to take his focus away from the field after the out, so Kory Smith took off from third.

However, Brower noticed what was going on and fired the ball to the catcher. Smith was caught in his tracks and APU got out of the inning without further damage done.

APU drew a leadoff walk before Dusty Sanderson's two-out, RBI base hit off Hunter Brown (5-4) made it 3-2 in the sixth.

APU started the seventh with a single and a double before Brower's RBI grounder made it 4-2. Matt Kimmel and Joe Huthsing added RBI base hits to make it 6-2.

CSUSM put together one final surge in the bottom of the ninth, seeking the same heroics that lifted the Cougars to a 3-2 victory on Thursday. Costello and Tapia notched one-out singles before Zach Tieger loaded the bases with a walk.

Reliever Mike Fairchild settled down, though, and drew a pop out from Tyler Bernard before a game-ending groundout from T. Buchanan.

CSUSM starter Kevin Hilton worked four innings, striking out a pair while allowing four hits and a pair of earned runs.

CSUSM has won 14 of its last 16 games heading into the postseason.