AZUSA, Calif. – Hawai'i Pacific University never led as No. 23 Azusa Pacific opened a four-game PacWest Conference series with an 8-1 victory on Thursday at the Cougar Baseball Complex.
 
The Sharks (16-11, 3-8) suffered its fifth straight loss, while the Cougars (13-9, 3-2) chalked up its second straight win.
 
Senior centerfielder Tanner Tokunaga of Pearl City, Hawai'i/Pearl City, led the Sharks at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a double. Freshman second baseman Dylan Kurahasi-Choy Foo of Waimanalo, Hawai'i/Kailua scored the Sharks only run, going 3-for-4 at the dish.
 
Sophomore righthander Evan Spitzer (4-2) of Mesa, Ariz./Desert Ridge struck out three, but picked up the loss allowing four runs, all earned, on five hits with four walks in four innings. Senior righthander Joshua Savea of Gold River, Calif./Rio Americano allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits in two innings of relief. Senior righty Tyler Van Stone of Henderson, Nev./Foothill finished for the Sharks with a strike out while allowing a run on three hits in two innings.
 
Azusa Pacific starter A.J. Woodall (4-2) struck out six Sharks and allowed a run on 11 hits with two walks in 6.2 innings. Spiro Valaskos allowed a hit in 2.1 innings of relief.
 
No. 23 Azusa jumped out to 4-0 lead after four, plating single runs in the first and second innings before Osvaldo Tolvalin bashed his seventh homer of the season -- a two-run shot --  in the fourth.
 
The Sharks put together a pair of singles to set up a sacrifice fly from junior rightfielder Sean Coffey of Boise, Idaho/Centennial to score HPU's only run in the fifth.
 
The Cougars responded with three runs in the bottom of the sixth on a pair of RBI singles and a throwing error.
 
APU's Austin Russ put an exclamation mark on the contest in the seventh, leading off with a solo homer to greet Van Stone.
 
HPU and APU meet again on Friday for a single game, with the first pitch slated for Noon HST (3 p.m. PDT) at the Cougar Baseball Complex.