HILO, Hawai'i -- Azusa Pacific wrapped up a long 10-game road trip to Hawai'i with a 10-2, 1-0 sweep of Hawai'i Hilo on the Big Island Saturday afternoon.
The Cougars doubled a five-run lead in the opener with 5 more runs in the seventh inning, and Carly Xepoleas was one batter away from firing a shutout in the 10-2 win. Kat Ung fired a two-hit shutout in the nightcap, and Erinn Jaramillo hit a fifth-inning solo home run to provide all the offense Azusa Pacific needed to complete the sweep.
Azusa Pacific returns to the mainland with eight wins in 10 games on the islands, returning home with a record of 18-7 overall, 10-2 in the Pacific West Conference. The Cougars returned to the top of the PacWest standings, tied with Dixie State (5-1 PacWest) and Academy of Art (5-1) in winning percentage (.833). Azusa Pacific hosts co-leader Academy of Art in a 4 p.m. doubleheader on Thursday, March 16.
GAME 1: Azusa Pacific 10, Hawai'i Hilo 2
Xepoleas struck out six in a complete-game win, and she was one out away from a shutout. Azusa Pacific produced 10 runs with a pair of five-run explosions in the third and seventh innings. Nicki Sprague helped open the floodgates with a bases-clearing three-run double in the third inning, and Jaramillo added a one-run double during the Cougars' five-run seventh.
Jaramillo, Ariana von Zboray, and Abry Moreno each had two hits to lead Azusa Pacific's offense, which manufactured 10 runs on 12 hits. Sprague's three RBIs extended her PacWest-leading RBI total to 36 on the season, and Xepoleas improved to 5-2 while lowering her season ERA to 1.54.
GAME 2: Azusa Pacific 1, Hawai'i Hilo 0
Ung retired 21 of the 25 batters she faced in the complete-game two-hit shutout, and she set down 16 of the final 17 hitters for the Hawai'i Hilo offense. Vulcans starting pitcher Cyanne Fernandez was nearly as dominant early on, retiring 13 of the first 14 Azusa Pacific batters before Jaramillo hit her third home run of the season, a two-out solo shot to center field in the top of the fifth inning to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
The Cougars threatened to add an insurance run with back-to-back singles in the seventh, just the second time all game where consecutive batters reached base safely. Ung finished with three strikeouts as she collected her third shutout of the year. Fernandez nearly matched the effort for Hawai'i Hilo, surrendering just one run on Jaramillo's fifth-inning solo shot while giving up just four total hits with five strikeouts.
