AZUSA, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific came up one run short in both games of Friday's doubleheader against Notre Dame de Namur, suffering 4-3 and 2-1 defeats between scattered rain showers to fall to 1-5 in Pacific West Conference play.

Freshman shortstop Illiana Jimenez led the offenses with four hits in six at-bats, and junior righthander Narissa Garcia surrendered just two hits over eight combined innings of relief work between the two games as the Cougars fell to 7-10 overall. Notre Dame de Namur, which moved a game over .500 at 6-5, was led offensively by opening-game home runs from Breanna Young and Cheyenne Koki, and Jenna Bassler fired a scoreless seventh for the save in Game 1 before scattering one unearned run on eight hits for the complete-game win in the nightcap.

The Cougars opened on a positive note, scoring two runs in the first inning of the opener on two infield hits and three walks. However, Notre Dame de Namur cut the lead in half on Lindsay Handy's third-inning RBI double, and the Argonauts moved in front with two runs in the fourth inning. Senior second baseman Katrina Oviedo smacked a two-out double down the left-field line to pull the Cougars even at 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Cheyenne Koki provided the game-winning home run in the top of the sixth, and Azusa Pacific's only baserunner in the final two innings was Madison Hernandez, who hit a two-out double in the bottom of the seventh inning to finish off the Cougars' four-hit offensive effort.

In the nightcap, it took NDNU three innings to settle in and score two runs to take a 2-0 lead, scoring both with two outs in the inning. The Cougars cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fourth on freshman rightfielder Abry Moreno's fielder's choice grounder, but back-to-back groundouts left the bases loaded in the fourth.

Azusa Pacific threatened again in the bottom of the seventh, putting the potential tying run at third base with one out after sophomore third baseman Nicki Sprague's one-out double was followed by a Hernandez line drive single just over the shortstop to put runners on first and third. However, the Cougars ran into outs at home plate, first on an attempted squeeze bunt which left Sprague stranded between third base and home plate. The rundown allowed Hernandez to come all the way around to third base, but she was tagged out trying to score after a pitch got past NDNU catcher Kaydi Kochi.

The teams are scheduled to continue their four-game PacWest series with a noon doubleheader on Saturday.