AZUSA, Calif. – Though it was business as usual, it was nonetheless an evening of "firsts" for Azusa Pacific, which relied on new players, new coaches and new events to sweep a doubleheader from Bethany College and beat the Bruins for the 13th consecutive time.
The Cougars downed Bethany, 8-0 and 8-1, relying on a commanding pitching performance by Kris Franks, Michelle Coleman and freshman Camille Hundley to shut down the Bruin bats. The trio of Cougar pitchers combined for 19 strikeouts in 12 innings of work while holding Bethany to just 7 hits for the evening.
In the opening game, Franks dominated Bethany, striking out 9 of the 15 batters she faced. A second inning leadoff bloop-single that dropped fair behind the third base bag was the only hit Bethany managed in the game. Franks struck out the side twice and at one point struck out 6 of 8 Bruin batters.
The Cougars scored a pair of runs in the first, second, fourth and fifth innings to claim the mercy-ruled victory. Lori Shimasaki's first-ever collegiate home run accounted for the runs in the second. She launched a liner over a shallow-playing centerfielder to push Justine Barnett across the plate and then used her extraordinary speed to zip around the bases, beating the throw home. Courtney Cleaves blasted her first home run of the season, a solo shot over the leftfield wall to put Azusa Pacific up 5-0 in the fourth inning.
The game ended on freshman Ericka Navarrete's first-ever collegiate bat, an infield single that scored Barnett.
In the second game, Hundley made her collegiate debut and was masterful, striking out 8 of the first 16 batters she faced before yielding a 2-out run in the bottom of the fifth.
"To be honest, Camille did what I expected of her," said Kwiatkowski. "She has been having great workouts lately and has been pitching well leading up to this evening."
The Cougars banged out 9 hits but took advantage of 5 Bruin errors to plate 5 unearned runs, including 3 in the sixth inning.
"This gave us a great opportunity to play everyone and have them all contribute in some way," said Kwiatkowski. "I was pleased with our enthusiasm throughout the entire game. Yes, we should win these games, but the ladies didn't take Bethany for granted and stayed strong to the end."
Jessica Mikesell, Cassi Sweeney, Shimasaki and Cleaves all had 3 hits on the night.
With the sweep, the Cougars improves to 3-1 on the season while Bethany falls to 0-4. The Cougars visit NCAA Division II power Cal State Bakersfield Saturday for a noon doubleheader.
"This should be a good test to see where we are this early in the season," said Kwiatkowski. "We excited about the challenge and looking forward to the games."
