ST. GEORGE, Utah -- Azusa Pacific and No. 20-ranked Dixie State split the first two games of a crucial four-game Pacific West Conference series with an outburst of offensive production as the two of the league's best offenses combined for 29 runs in two games Friday afternoon. The Cougars jumped out to an early lead in a 6-3 win in the opener, then twice rallied from three runs down to tie before falling to the Red Storm in the nightcap, 12-8.
Nicki Sprague drove in six runs on the day, going four-for-seven while sparking the offense with a first-inning two-run home run in the opening game to set the tone offensively for the day. The Cougars pounded Red Storm pitching for 24 hits, starting with a 14-hit explosion in the opener.
Sprague was three-for-three in the opener with four RBIs, and she drove in two more in the nightcap while going one-for-four. After scoring first again in the second game with a two-run third inning, Azusa Pacific surrendered five runs in the bottom of the third and had to spend the rest of the game battling back. The Cougars tied the game, 5-5, with three runs in the fourth, which Dixie State answered with three more in the bottom of the fourth. In the sixth, Azusa Pacific rallied to tie the game again with another three-run inning, this time at 8-8 in the sixth inning, before the Red Storm pulled away for good with four runs in the bottom of the sixth.
With the split, Azusa Pacific is now 20-9 overall and 12-4 in PacWest play, while Dixie State is now 28-8 overall, 13-5 PacWest. Heading into Saturday's noon (MDT) doubleheader, the teams sit in a virtual three-way tie for second place in the PacWest standings with Concordia, which is also 12-4 in conference play.
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GAME 1: Azusa Pacific 6, Dixie State 3
Sprague's two-run home run to straightaway center field in the first inning opened up the scoring on the day, and she added an RBI single to spark a three-run third inning that gave Azusa Pacific a 5-1 lead. She added a two-out RBI single in the fourth inning, scoring Illiana Jimenez from second base to extend the lead to 6-1.
Jimenez (4-for-5), Cayla Broussard (3-for-4), and Sprague (3-for-3) combined for 10 hits in 12 at-bats and scored all six runs of the opener. While the top of the lineup provided all the run production Azusa Pacific needed, Megan Mejia fired 3.1 innings of no-hit shutout relief to pick up the win. Mejia issued just one walk and retired 10 of the 12 batters she faced, entering the game with two outs in the bottom of the fourth after Dixie State cut the lead to 6-3 on Josey Hartman's two-run double with two outs in the fourth inning.
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GAME 2: Dixie State 12, Azusa Pacific 8
Kayla Jimenez opened the scoring in the second game with a two-out, two-run double to left-center in the top of the third inning, but the lead was short-lived as Dixie State rallied for five runs in the bottom of the third. Dani Bartholf pushed Dixie State in front, 4-2, with a bases-loaded three-run double in the five-run third.
The Cougars converted three hits and an error into a three-run fourth inning, tying the game at 5-5, but Dixie State reclaimed a three-run lead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Azusa Pacific rallied again, tying the game at 8-8 with three more runs in the sixth inning, but the Red Storm answered one more time with a four-run sixth to pull away for the win.
Broussard, Kayla Jimenez, and Ariana von Zboray each collected two hits in the nightcap to lead the Cougars' 10-hit attack.
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