ST. GEORGE, Utah -- Azusa Pacific teamed with Mother Nature to keep No. 4-ranked Dixie State from celebrating a Pacific West Conference softball championship Friday, but the Red Storm rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the opening game before a lightning storm forced officials to suspend the second game of Friday's doubleheader with Dixie State leading 11-3 in the third inning.

The opening win clinched at least a share of the PacWest regular-season title for Dixie State, and the four-game series will continue Saturday at 11 a.m. with the continuation of Friday's suspended game, which will be followed by the originally-scheduled doubleheader.

The Cougars jumped out to an early lead with a two-run first inning, and senior centerfielder Renae Chappelle extended the lead to 4-1 with a one-out, two-run double in the top of the fourth inning. Dixie State came right back in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game, scoring three runs while benefiting from two Azusa Pacific errors in the inning. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Marla Reiter broke the tie with a game-winning three-run home run, and Michelle Duncan set the Cougars down in order in the seventh to complete the 7-4 win.

Chappelle had two doubles and was one of three Azusa Pacific hitters with two hits in the opener, joining sophomore third baseman Nicki Sprague and junior catcher Madison Hernandez to combine for six of the Cougars' nine hits in the game.

In the second game, Azusa Pacific took another early lead with three runs in the first inning on a three-run Hernandez home run, her PacWest-leading 13th of the year. Dixie State quickly answered with its own three-run first inning, and the Red Storm added six runs in the second inning and put two runs across in the third inning before play was suspended with runners at first and third with one out.

Azusa Pacific is now 27-23 overall and 12-14 in PacWest play, while Dixie State improves to 39-7 overall with a 26-1 PacWest mark.