HONOLULU, Hawai'i -- A doubleheader which started with an 11-run inning improbably ended in a split as Azusa Pacific followed an 18-9 opening-game win with a 3-2 defeat to BYU-Hawaii Friday afternoon at Sand Island in Honolulu.

After scoring 11 times while sending 14 batters to the plate in the top of the first in Game 1, Azusa Pacific was outscored the rest of the day by BYU-Hawaii, which avoided the eight-run mercy rule in the first game before rallying in the sixth inning to pull off the upset of the Pacific West Conference-leading Cougars.

Nicki Sprague and Abry Moreno led the offense in the opener, collecting three hits each while combining for 10 RBIs, while Kayla Jimenez had two hits in each game and finished the day 4-for-8 with four runs and four RBIs on the day.

With the split, Azusa Pacific relinquished its lead in the PacWest standings while dropping to 16-7 overall and 8-2 in conference play. The Cougars are now 6-2 through the first eight games of a 10-game road trip through the Hawaiian Islands, which concludes on the Big Island with a Saturday, March 11 doubleheader at Hawai'i Hilo.

GAME 1: Azusa Pacific 18, BYU-Hawaii 9

Azusa Pacific scored 10 of its 11 first-inning runs with two outs, taking advantage of three BYU-Hawaii errors while sending 14 batters to the plate in the inning. Moreno and Sprague each hit two-run singles in the inning, and Jimenez hit a two-run triple and scored on an error to cap the 11-run frame. Sprague collected two of her three hits in the first inning alone and finished the game 3-for-4 with 6 RBIs.

Although the Cougars added a run in the third inning, BYU-Hawaii escaped a mercy-rule defeat by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth to stay alive. The Seasiders also answered four Azusa Pacific runs in the top of the sixth with four runs of its own, again avoiding an early ending due to the mercy rule by climbing within seven, 16-9, after six innings.

GAME 2: BYU-Hawaii 3, Azusa Pacific 2

In the second game, Kat Ung took a shutout into the sixth inning before BYU-Hawaii capitalized on an error to spark a three-run sixth and rally for the 3-2 win. The Cougars used a leadoff walk in the fourth inning to manufacture the first run of the game, and Jimenez hit a leadoff home run in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 2-0.

Taiana Williamson scattered two runs on five hits with four walks to keep Azusa Pacific's offense off balance and claim the win. Two of the three runs allowed by Ung were unearned, and she finished with two strikeouts in the defeat.