AZUSA, Calif. -- With Azusa Pacific currently outside looking in on the eight-team NCAA regional playoff field, every game down the stretch is loaded with significance for the Cougars, who were ranked ninth in the initial set of West regional rankings announced this week.

Azusa Pacific responded Friday with a dominant performance, notching a pair of 8-0 wins over Notre Dame de Namur with a dominant all-around performance. Offensively, the Cougars batted .404 as a team, and the pitching staff kept NDNU off the scoreboard behind Carly Xepoleas' four-hit shutout in the five-inning opener before Megan Mejia and Ariana von Zboray combined on the Game 2 shutout.

Azusa Pacific continued to hold third place in the PacWest standings, trailing second-place Dixie State by one game while leading fourth-place Concordia by a one-game margin with just four games left in the regular season. The Cougars improve to 29-17 overall and 20-8 in PacWest play heading into Saturday's Senior Day doubleheader against Holy Names before wrapping up the regular season April 29 at Concordia.

GAME 1 (5 innings): Azusa Pacific 8, Notre Dame de Namur 0

Xepoleas fired a four-hit shutout with three strikeouts, and in her last three starts, the senior lefthander has surrendered just one run in 21 innings of work. On Friday, she got into trouble with two outs in the opening frame, retiring the first two batters before Notre Dame de Namur loaded the bases on a walk, single, and hit by pitch. Xepoleas ended the threat with a grounder to shortstop.

She escaped another third-inning jam after an error led to runners on second and third with one out before Xepoleas came up with a crucial strikeout for the second out before inducing an inning-ending groundout. After that, Xepoleas retired eight of the final nine batters as the Cougar offense finally got rolling with five runs in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth.

Erinn Jaramillo got the scoring started with a two-run double in the bottom of the fourth inning, and Ariana von Zboray added an RBI double that made it a 3-0 lead. Abry Moreno added an RBI single in the fifth while Nicki Sprague drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in another and complete the five-run frame.

All nine offensive starters registered either a hit or an RBI in the opener, led by 2-for-3 performances from Moreno and von Zboray. Illiana Jimenez also notched two hits, going 2-for-4 from the leadoff spot for the Cougars, who generated 8 runs on 11 hits in the opener.

GAME 2 (6 innings): Azusa Pacific 8, Notre Dame de Namur 0

The Cougars got the scoring started an inning earlier in the nightcap, scoring five in the third inning. Cayla Broussard broke a scoreless tie with a two-out, two-run single up the middle which plated the first of five two-out runs in the inning.

Sprague drove in the game-ending run, driving in one with a groundout that made it 8-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning. She drove in two runs, and four of her teammates collected two hits apiece, as Broussard went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs.

In the meantime, Azusa Pacific pitching was also outstanding, as Megan Mejia left after four no-hit innings while von Zboray helped finish off the shutout with two scoreless frames to end the game. Mejia earned the win, improving to 9-3 on the year, and she struck out three with four walks in her winning effort.