There is no doubt that Azusa Pacific is the best baseball team in the PacWest after finishing undefeated at the automatic qualifier three-team series on Saturday.
The host Cougars (33-8) went 4-0 while UH-Hilo (14-15) and Academy of Art (16-20) each went 1-3 in Azusa, Calif.
APU has dominated the conference, winning titles in 2017, ’18, and ’19.
The next question is can the Cougars match the success of former member Cal Baptist.
Cal Baptist won the PacWest championship in 2016 but is now in the WAC, a Division I conference.
Dixie State won league titles in 2014 and ’15 while Cal Baptist took second. The Trailblazers are also WAC members.
In 2013, the Lancers won their fourth straight PacWest title and second straight Division II World Series crown.
The question for the Vulcans is can they reach the level of APU, which hammered them 9-2 at their field.
The Cougars scored five runs in the fifth, including four off Christian Sadler, who recorded just two outs.
Jacob Liberta walked Tyus Santa Anna, who stole second and third and scored on Nick Estrella’s RBI double for a 4-1 lead.
Sadler came in and gave up an RBI single, then a walk, got a flyout, and surrendered an RBI double for a 6-1 lead.
Then another free pass put runners on the corners with two out. An infield throwing error made it 7-1.
Sadler gave up an RBI single for an 8-1 cushion and was replaced by Jamieson Hirayama, who allowed an RBI single for a 9-1 lead.
After a wild pitch and a walk, Hirayama got Estrella on a flyout to leave runners in scoring position and UHH in a 9-1 deficit.
Lawson Faria had two hits for the Vulcans, who had just four hits.
Christian DeJesus pitched three innings and allowed two runs in the loss. Liberta gave up three runs in an inning, Sadler got two outs and yielded four runs, Hirayama got one out, and Cody Hirota finished with three scoreless innings.
Isaac Mendez pitched three innings for the win. He was one of six pitchers in APU’s bullpen by committee day.
Nick Estrella had two hits and three RBIs, including a two-run homer off DeJesusin the third for the Cougars, who had eight hits.
The game against APU was nothing more than a measuring stick because earlier in the day the Cougars walloped the Urban Knights 9-0 to claim the West Regional berth.
