BELMONT, Calif. -- Junior second baseman Nicki Sprague reached base safely in all seven plate appearances to lead Azusa Pacific's offense in a 4-3, 10-0 doubleheader sweep at Notre Dame de Namur, and junior lefthander Carly Xepoleas tossed a one-hit shutout in the five-inning mercy-rule nightcap.

The Cougars extended their win streak to a season-high eight games to improve to 26-8 overall and 13-3 in Pacific West Conference play heading into tomorrow's doubleheader at Academy of Art.

Sprague delivered the game-winning hit in the opener with her bases-loaded two-run single in the top of the seventh inning, erasing a 3-2 NDNU lead, and she delivered the game-winning RBI in the second game with a first-inning base hit. She added a two-run home run in the second inning as Azusa Pacific raced out to a 7-0 lead through the first two innings before adding single runs in each of the next three innings.

Xepoleas allowed just two baserunners on the day, giving up a two-out single in the third inning and hitting the leadoff batter in the bottom of the fifth. However, she only faced the minimum 15 batters in her five innings of work, as the baserunner in the third inning was called out for leaving first base early on a pitch, and the fifth-inning leadoff baserunner was erased with a ground ball double play up the middle to Sprague.

Xepoleas struck out two and walked none in the complete-game one-hit shutout, which was her second consecutive mercy-rule shutout victory. Over her past nine appearances, a stretch spanning 42.1 innings and began with a three-hit shutout against Concordia, Xepoleas has delivered three complete-game shutouts and allowed only three earned runs for a 0.50 ERA during the stretch.

In Monday's first game, Sprague opened the scoring with a one-out double that scored sophomore rightfielder Illiana Jimenez, and sophomore first baseman Kayla Jimenez broke a 1-1 tie with a third-inning sacrifice fly. The Cougars' 2-1 lead held up until the bottom of the sixth, when Notre Dame de Namur followed a one-out walk with three consecutive hits to take a 3-2 lead.

Azusa Pacific's seventh-inning rally started with junior centerfielder Abry Moreno drawing a four-pitch leadoff walk. Illiana Jimenez followed with a single, and freshman shortstop Cayla Broussard drew another walk to load the bases for Sprague with no outs. After Sprague's two-run single pushed the Cougars ahead, 4-3, NDNU was able to escape further damage.

Junior righthander Ariana von Zboray retired the final five NDNU hitters, including a perfect seventh inning, to pick up the win and improve to 8-1 on the season. Senior righthanderNarissa Garcia struck out seven in her 5.1 innings of work as the starter in Game 1.

In the second game, Sprague's first-inning RBI single was followed by a three-run home run from Kayla Jimenez to cap a four-run first, and Sprague's two-run second-inning home run followed Broussard's run-scoring bunt single. Senior catcher Ally Wimer, Kayla Jimenez, and Broussard delivered the run-scoring hits in the third, fourth, and fifth innings to put the mercy-rule into effect.

The top five hitters in the lineup combined to go 11-for-16 in the game, led by Illiana Jimenez going three-for-four from the leadoff spot while Kayla Jimenez was three-for-three with four RBIs while batting fifth. Broussard and Sprague added two hits each, as the Cougars posted their fourth game this season with at least 10 runs of offensive production.