TURLOCK, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific bounced back from a 2-1 extra-inning opening defeat to Saint Martin's (Wash.) University to beat San Francisco State, 8-4, and the Cougars wrapped up a full day of softball with a 5-0 defeat to Humboldt State Friday at the Tournament of Champions Presented by Turlock Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The San Francisco State win was Azusa Pacific's 20th of the season, and Friday's results give the Cougars a 20-19 overall record heading into two more games Saturday at the Tournament of Champions. First up is an early-morning (8:45 a.m.) rematch with Cal State Dominguez Hills, which Azusa Pacific beat by an 11-1 margin six weeks ago at the Desert Stinger Tournament, and the Cougars wrap up the tournament against Cal State East Bay at 1:15 p.m.
In Friday's opener, Azusa Pacific left 10 runners on base and squandered a strong pitching start from junior righthander Narissa Garcia. The Cougars took a 1-0 lead in the second inning but left the bases loaded, and Garcia took the 1-0 lead into the final inning before surrendering an unearned run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. In the eighth, Azusa Pacific loaded the bases with one out but couldn't get the run across, while Saint Martin's cashed in the extra baserunner from the international tiebreaker on Sam Munger's one-out, bases-loaded single up the middle.
In the 8-4 win over San Francisco State, the Cougars struck first with a three-run opening frame and added a four-run sixth to pull away for the victory. The first-inning scoring was finished off by sophomore third baseman Nicki Sprague's two-run home run, which was her sixth home run of the year. In the sixth inning, Azusa Pacific did all its damage with two outs, starting with a Sprague single which was followed by two more singles from Kayla Jimenez and Sona Babayan.
Babayan's hit down the left field line brought Sprague in to break a 4-4 tie, and Jimenez scored on a fielder's choice before Babayan scored from third on a throwing error when the Cougars went for a double steal with runners on first and third. Freshman Anneliese Davis completed the outburst with an RBI double that made it 8-4.
Senior pitcher Destinee Levesque took care of the rest, retiring the final six SFSU hitters to wrap up 4.1 innings of one-hit shutout relief to earn the win. Levesque struck out eight and walked one in the victory. Sprague led the eight-run, 14-hit attack by going three-for-five with two runs and two RBIs.
In the final game, Humboldt State pitcher Madison Williams tossed a three-hit shutout, striking out eight Cougar hitters. The Lumberjacks scored three runs on a pair of home runs with no outs in the third inning, extending the lead to 4-0 and knocking Levesque out of her start after throwing two-plus innings. Azusa Pacific's best scoring threat came in the fifth inning when Abry Moreno and Renae Chappelle led off the frame with back-to-back singles. However, Williams retired the next two hitters on strikeouts before walking Sprague on four pitchers to load the bases for an inning-ending groundout, the first of seven straight hitters she retired to complete the win.
Sprague, Babayan, and Desiree Chavez collected four hits each to lead the Azusa Pacific offense for the day.
