AZUSA, Calif. –- Sasha Budde's sacrifice fly with 2 outs in the top of the eighth scored Rachel Alkire with the go-ahead run as Azusa Pacific held on to beat The Master's, 2-1, in the nightcap of a GSAC doubleheader at The Master's College. The Mustangs won the first game, 3-2.
In the opening game, 2 defensive miscues cost the Cougars a pair of unearned runs, 1 in the first inning when The Master's took a 2-0 lead and another in the sixth inning that eventually proved to be fatal. Down 3-0, the Cougars scored a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning. Jennie Waleszonia and Alkire led off the inning with back-to-back singles and came home on Shawna Paxton's 2-out single to left-center to pull the Cougars to within a run, but that was as close as they could get.
The loss wasted a strong effort in the circle by Alkire, who limited the Mustangs to just 5 hits while striking out 5 and walking 1.
In the second game, freshman pitcher Kris Franks was sharp for the Cougars, allowing just a second-inning solo home run. Franks yielded just 4 singles the rest of the way and struck out a career-high 8 in the process. She pushed her record to 4-2 on the season.
Trisha Rico's sacrifice fly in the fourth inning scored pinch runner Holly Downard to tie the game at 1-1.
Azusa Pacific out-hit The Master's, 11-10, on the day. Cassie Lakey was 3-for-6 in the 2 games while Alkire was 3-for-7.
With the split Azusa Pacific's record moves to 23-9 overall, 6-6 in the GSAC
