TURLOCK — The pitching depth and strong bullpen of Azusa Pacific kept the Stanislaus State offense at bay as the Warriors dropped a pair to the 8^th ranked Cougars on Friday.
 
Moving the doubleheader up to a 10 a.m. start time for the second straight Friday, head coach Kenny Leonesio and the staff worked miracles and got the games in on home field before the rain arrived. However, seven APU pitchers — especially the bullpen — helped kept the nationally ranked team ahead.
 
In the end the Warriors lost 7-4 in game one and 8-4 in the second game to fall to 2-2 overall.
 
Five APU relievers combined to pitch eight innings and allowed just three runs on six hits with eight strikeouts in the doubleheader.
 
Grant Bunker had three of the Warriors' 11 hits in the twinbill. Bunker went 2-for-3 in the first game and hit a solo homer in game two. Matt Elser went 2-for-4 and Vinny Margiotta doubled as the only other extra-base hit in the morning game.
 
Margiotta's double in the fourth capped a three-run inning that made the score 4-3. The Warriors also scored two unearned runs in the frame. Stan State tied the game in the fifth on a Michael Wyatt RBI single but did not score again.
 
APU jumped out to a 6-0 lead after two innings of the second game and chased starter Matt Pulos after 1 1/3 innings. Brandon Scott pitched well in relief, allowing just a run on two hits over 5 2/3 innings.
 
The two teams will complete the three-game series with a single game at Noon on Saturday.