AZUSA, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific's four-game winning streak was snapped as the Cougars were held to one run over both games as No. 17-ranked California Baptist swept Saturday's Pacific West Conference softball doubleheader with 1-0 and 8-1 victories to finish off a season series sweep.
Junior righthander Narissa Garcia only allowed one run on four hits and struck out six in six innings of work in the opener, but California Baptist countered with a complete-game two-hit shutout from Loie Kesterson to pick up the 1-0 win in the opener. Although she didn't strike out a single batter, Kesterson limited the PacWest's second-leading offense to two hits with an efficient 80-pitch performance to pick up the win.
Freshman shortstop Illiana Jimenez had four of Azusa Pacific's nine total hits on the day, reaching three times on bunt singles and beating out a high chopper back to the pitcher for her final hit of the afternoon. Jimenez drew a leadoff walk to start the game, but Kesterson settled in to retire the next 11 hitters she faced before junior catcher Madison Hernandez laced a two-out double off the left-field fence in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Jimenez reached again on a one-out bunt single in the sixth inning, but she was forced out at second on a fielder's choice and Kesterson got out of the inning with a popup to keep the shutout intact. Hernandez drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh, and sophomore rightfielder Abry Moreno drew a two-out walk to bring the potential tying run into scoring position. Senior second baseman Katrina Oviedo pulled a hard grounder down the third-base line, but California Baptist third baseman Ashley DeVaere made a diving stop and stepped on third base for the force out to finish off the Lancers' 1-0 win.
California Baptist took advantage of a leadoff error in the fourth inning for its only run of the game, as the Cougar outfield miscommunicated on a popup to right-center that resulted in a three-base error for Jacque Lopez. She scored on Sarah Murphy's one-out single through the left side for the game's only run.
In the second game, CBU jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first inning after Lopez drew a bases-loaded walk and Tayler Castro followed with a bases-clearing double to right-center. The Cougars got one run back in the bottom of the second inning, loading the bases with no outs on a Kayla Jimenez leadoff double followed by Sona Babayan's single to right and a walk to Moreno. Oviedo's grounder to third resulted in a force out at third but scored Jimenez from third base to cut the lead to 4-1. A pop out in foul territory as followed by another Illiana Jimenez bunt single to load the bases again, but CBU pitcher Kayla Hatch escaped the jam with another infield popup.
Hatch retired 13 of the next 14 before surrendering consecutive two-out singles in the bottom of the seventh inning to Oviedo and senior centerfielder Renae Chappelle. The Lancers padded their lead with a three-run fifth and added one more in the sixth on a DeVaere two-out single for the final 8-1 margin. Like her pitching counterpart Kesterson, Hatch did not strike out a batter in her 67-pitch outing but picked up the win after scattering one run on seven hits and a walk to improve to 17-3 on the season and help lower CBU's team ERA to 1.85, which ranks second in the PacWest.
Azusa Pacific's next PacWest series is a four-game trip to conference-leading Dixie State April 24-25, which follows non-conference doubleheaders at Cal State San Marcos on April 17 and home against Vanguard on April 22.
