AZUSA, Calif. -- Less than 48 hours after becoming Azusa Pacific’s career home run record holder, junior first baseman Brice Cutspec added another longball to his career tally to lead the NAIA’s No. 8-ranked Azusa Pacific to a 10-7 victory over No. 12-ranked Fresno Pacific, part of a 3-for-3 performance in which he needed just a single to complete the cycle.

Cutspec drew a 5-pitch walk in his first plate appearance, doubled his second time up in the fourth inning, then hit a 2-run triple in the Cougars’ 3-run fifth, his first career 3-bagger. In the bottom of the seventh, he knocked Daniel Brodie’s 1-2 breaking ball over the outfield fence just inside the right-field foul pole for his NAIA-leading 16th home run of the season. The solo shot pushed Azusa Pacific’s lead to 9-4, and it gave Cutspec his 46th career longball. His 2-homer performance in Tuesday’s 10-0 non-conference win over La Verne broke a 28-year old record set by Marty Cordell in a 4-year, 190-game career that ended in 1981, the year of Azusa Pacific’s first-ever trip to the NAIA World Series.

“We’re not a team that has the 1 or 2 standout players like when we had Stephen Vogt and Scott Hodsdon, or last year when it was Kirk Nieuwenhuis,” Cutspec said. “They were incredible players, and I think they carried us a lot of the time. This year is much more of a team effort, and we’ve really been on point with a lot of aspects of the game right now.”

Fresno Pacific took an early 3-0 lead in the game’s first 2 innings, scoring a pair on Case Rigby’s 2-out, 2-run home run to left-center before adding another in the second on Anthony Lowell’s sacrifice fly. However, senior starter Garrett Lebsock got the inning-ending ground ball he needed with the bases loaded in the second to escape any further damage.

Lebsock retired 10 of the next 12 Fresno Pacific batters while the Cougar offense finally warmed up after its first time around the lineup against Sunbirds starter Jacob Burns. The southpaw got 10 outs through the first 10 Azusa Pacific batters, canceling the base on balls he issued to Cutspec in the second with a double-play ground ball.

“Garrett did another really fine job, and it was a good, quality start,” said Cougar head coach Paul Svagdis, who gave the senior righthander his first start of the season a week ago against Fresno Pacific. “He settled down and gave us a chance to get the hitters going a little bit. When you start putting zeroes up on the board after giving up a few runs, your hitters feel that if they can keep plugging away, they can get you some runs.”

Senior second baseman Ryan Dowell singled with 1 out in the bottom of the fourth inning, and Cutspec initiated the 2-out rally with his double to the left-center field gap. Senior leftfielder Stephen Gillette’s RBI infield single plated Dowell, and senior centerfielder Drew Evans smacked a 3-run home run down the left-field line to give the Cougars a 4-3 lead. Sophomore rightfielder Virgil Chavira was hit by pitch, and back-to-back errors brought him around to cap a 5-run frame.

“Brice has a great swing, and he’s been really focused on his process at the plate,” Svagdis said. “To have the ability to set a record is something he should feel good about, and we’re all excited that he did that.”

Cutspec got Azusa Pacific’s offense back on the scoreboard in the fifth inning, stroking a laser deep to straightaway center field, where it caromed off the fence towards the gap in left-center. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound junior, already on a hard turn around first base when the ball hit the fence, rumbled all the way around second and came in standing at third base for his first career triple after registering 80 career extra-base hits through his first 3 seasons.

“I hit first base, and it took a crazy hop off the wall,” Cutspec said. “At that point, I was thinking I had a chance to get a triple. After the triple, I thought that if there’s any day (to hit for the cycle), this could be the day to do it.”

He made it to the plate one final time in the bottom of the eighth with 2 outs after junior third baseman Ryan Delgado was hit by an 0-2 pitch with 2 outs in the frame, but a wild pitch moved pinch-runner Todd Stiles to second, opening up first base for a 4-pitch walk to Cutspec that kept him from getting a legitimate opportunity to hit for the cycle.

After the first 2 innings, Lebsock scattered just 1 more run on 5 hits, finishing with a 7-inning, 6-strikeout effort that gave him his sixth victory in as many pitching appearances this season. Evans was 2-for-3 with 4 RBIs, and junior catcher Chris Feicht tallied 3 of those elusive singles to help pace the Cougars’ 12-hit attack.

With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 17-3 overall and 8-2 in Golden State Athletic Conference play, maintaining its place as 1 of 3 teams tied for first atop the GSAC standings. Fresno Pacific drops to 13-5 overall, 7-4 GSAC, and the Sunbirds remain in fourth place in the conference behind the 3-team logjam at the top.

“Anytime we win in conference it’s significant,” Svagdis said. “They’re a great team, and last year they came into our yard and beat us twice. They’re no different – they’re still a great club and we’ll have to go up there at some point. They’re certainly one of the best teams in the league, so to be able to come out and feel like you did well at home against them is a good feeling.”

The Cougars continue GSAC action Saturday with an 11 a.m. home doubleheader against Westmont.