LA JOLLA, Calif. -- For the third time in as many tries this season, Azusa Pacific split a road doubleheader, this time with upstart UC San Diego on its home Triton Field.
The Cougars pounded UCSD, 11-4, in the opening game before the Tritons came back to down Azusa Pacific, 7-3, in the nightcap.
Freshman Tami Carter continued her sprint from the collegiate gate, going 7-for-8 on the day with 4 RBIs, 3 doubles, a home run and a stolen base. In the first game victory, she was 4-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and 3 runs scored. She had run-scoring doubles in the second and fourth innings to help Azusa Pacific move out to a 10-3 lead midway through the game.
Second baseman Megan Alkire was 2-for-3 with 5 RBIs. She got Azusa Pacific on the board in the first inning with a 2-run double that scored Courtney Cleaves and Carter. After producing a sacrifice fly in the second inning, she then cranked her first home run of the season in the fourth, a 2-run shot. Twin sister Rachel Alkire capped the scoring with a solo bomb in the top of the seventh, her first home run of the season as well.
Rachel Alkire gladly accepted the Cougars' offensive outburst and scattered 9 hits over 7 innings of pitching, striking out 2 and walking none to push her record to 3-0 on the season.
In the second game, Azusa Pacific held a slim 2-1 lead when the Tritons put together back-to-back 3-run innings to go up 7-2, chasing Cougar starter Nicole Hendrix in the process. UCSD collected 5 of its 12 hits in the fourth inning to take a 4-2 lead. In the fifth, Breanna Cope greeted Cougar reliever Megan Alkire with a 3-run bomb to put the Tritons out of reach.
With the split, the Cougars move to 3-3 on the season. UC San Diego, which is enjoying one of its best starts in several years, is now 10-4.
Azusa Pacific makes its 2004 home debut on Friday (Feb. 20) when the Cougars host Notre Dame de Namur at 4 p.m. in the Cougar Softball Complex.
