Box Score

AZUSA, Calif. - Fresno Pacific picked up its seventh straight win in a big way on Thursday, handing conference rival Azusa Pacific its first PacWest loss and pounding out 14 hits on the night to defeat APU's ace pitcher, the top-ranked prospect in all of NCAA Division II.

APU ace Josh Staumont, ranked the #9 overall prospect in college baseball throughout all divisions by Baseball America, entered the game with a 1.35 ERA in five starts and boasts a fastball that tops out in the high 90s. The Sunbirds (13-8, 5-4 PacWest) were up to the challenge however, lighting up the Cougar flamethrower for five runs on 10 hits.

FPU countered Staumont with PacWest batting leader Joshua Banuelos, who blasted a two-run homer in the first inning to set the tone. It was the first homer allowed by APU all season. Kaohu Gaspar, who finished 5-for-5 on the day, would add a solo blast for the Sunbirds in the seventh inning. Michael Hostetler, John Koretoff, Kevin Magill and Banuelos finished with two hits apiece for FPU.

"Our offense did a great job sticking with their approach and put some good swings on the ball," said head coach Oscar Hirschkorn. "We have a lot of series left so we need to maintain our focus."

Eian Raeber (3-2) earned the win for the Sunbirds on the mound, giving up three earned runs in 6 2/3 innings against an APU team that entered the game with a PacWest-best .311 team batting average. Josh Medeles threw 2 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, striking out four to earn the save.

"I'm very pleased with the performance Raeber gave us tonight," said Hirschkorn. "Medeles is also really excelling at pitching in pressure. He made some really big pitches tonight."

The Cougars fell to 10-5, 6-1 in PacWest play, and saw an eight-game winning streak snapped.

The two teams play the second game of the four-game series tomorrow at 3 pm.