LAS VEGAS -- Azusa Pacific got a 2-3 start to the 2018 season, wrapping up their last day of the Desert Stinger tournament with a 4-1 win over host school Montana State Billings, a 7-2 deficit to No. 21 Chico State, and a nail-biting 11-10 lose UC San Diego.
 
First, the Cougars opened with Megan Mejia, securing a win on the mound over Montana State Billings, Cayla Broussard led the Cougars efforts going 4-for-4. Kat Ung helped the Cougars to a solid start in game two, holding No. 21 Chico State to two scoreless innings. Game three saw Gaby Grabowski in the circle, junior Melanie Abzun went 2-for-2, freshman's Becca Jewett and Amanda Woods both hit their first collegiate home runs.
 
GAME 1: Azusa Pacific 4, Montana State Billings 1
 
The Cougars took to the plate first, wasting no time getting on the board as the top of the lineup got into scoring position. Illiana Jimenez sparked the inning with a first-pitch single down the left side and junior Cayla Broussard singled to center field to advance Jimenez to third. With runners on first and third Kayla Jimenez hit a sacrifice fly ball to right field which scored Jimenez from third to record the first run of the game.
 
The following two and a half innings were silent on both sides of the field. Until sophomore Jenna Gorman made some noise with her first-pitch single to right center, sparking the fourth inning. Amanda Woods ground ball hit to first was thrown to second to get the lead runner Gorman out. Woods reached second base on a throwing error made by the Yellowjackets putting her in scoring position and scored on Megan Tuckers single to the right side. Which brought the Cougars lead to 2-0 over the Yellowjackets.
 
Melanie Abzun started the fifth inning beating out a single hit to the shortstop. Illiana Jimenez reached first on a fielder's choice to the shortstop, who tossed the ball over the second baseman to get Abzun out on a force play. Broussard bunted her way to first, advancing Illiana Jimenez to third, with runners on the corners, Broussard stole second giving the Cougars two runners in scoring position. After a Cougar strike out, Erinn Jaramillo singled to center field on the first pitch, scoring both Jimenez and Broussard, improving the Cougars lead to 4-0.
 
Grabowski gave up a bunt to lead off the sixth, getting her out at two with a comeback up the middle. With one down and a runner on first Ragual Espinoza took to the mound, walking the first batter she faced putting runners on first and second. The second batter Espinoza faced hit an RBI double to right field advancing the runner from first to third. After giving up a run, Espinoza popped up the next batter and struck out the third out bringing the final score to 4-1 in favor of the Cougars.
 
GAME 2: Chico State 7, Azusa Pacific 2
 
The Cougars took to the plate first and started off the game with a walk by senior Illiana Jimenez. With Broussard at the plate, Jimenez stole second, with the table set for Broussard she saw four straight balls and joined Jimenez on the bases. The Cougars table setters were placed just right, the two advanced to second and third after stealing the first chance they had, putting them both in scoring position. The next two batters saw a groundout and a strikeout. Jenna Gorman stepped up to the plate with two down and scored Jimenez and Broussard with a double to right center. The Cougars started the game off with two on the board.
 
Kat Ung started her second game of the Desert Stinger tournament, against No. 21 Chico State. Ung delivered two outs, as the leadoff batter lined out to her and the second batter grounded out to the Broussard. The cleanup hitter in the three-hole reached first on an error, as Ung retired the third out of the first holding the Cougars 2-0 lead going into the second.
 
The top of the third proved not beneficial for the Cougars as they went three-up-three-down. The same could not be said for the Wildcats who capitalized on a handful of crucial Cougar errors. Ung gave up a leadoff walk, popped-up the following batter, then threw away a comebacker advancing the walked batter to third. With runners on first and third, the Wildcats drove a single down the right-field line evening the score 2-2.
 
The Cougars could not scratch a hit in the fourth. The bottom of the inning looked promising for the Cougars as Ung struck out the leadoff hitter then popped up the next batter. With two down Ung gave up a 1-0 home run breaking the tie. As the Wildcats took the lead 3-2, Megan Mejia took to the mound for the Cougars. Mejia walked the first batter she faced and gave up a single to the next. Mejia loaded the bases as she hit the third batter she faced. With bases loaded and two outs, Mejia got out of the inning with a line drive to Broussard who defied gravity and snagged the liner a good two-feet off the ground.
 
The Cougars began their fifth inning at-bats with a groundout followed by a single up the middle by Abzun. With a runner on first Illiana laid down a bunt to put runners on first and second. Broussard put down a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher to advance Abzun and Jimenez to second and third. With two outs and two runners in scoring position, the Cougars third out came as a fly ball to the center fielder. Starting pitcher Ung returned to the mound in the bottom of the fifth, as the Wildcats flew out to right field, giving the Cougars their first out. With the count even 2-2 the Wildcats got a hold of a ball, sending it out of the park clearing the bases and improving their lead to 4-2. After hitting a Wildcat Ung handed the ball over to Raquel Espinoza. Sophomore catcher Jenna Gorman, cleared the bases as she fired a ball to second to catch a Wildcat stealing for the second out of the inning. With no one on and two outs, Espinoza gave up a single to right center then retired the next batter to finish the inning.
 
The final two innings of the game showed flat for the Cougars as they went three-up-three-down. Chico State rallied the troops and secured some insurance runs with two outs in the sixth as Espinoza gave up two hits and three runs to put the Wildcats over the Cougars 7-2.
 
GAME 3: UC San Diego 11, Azusa Pacific 10
 
It was a back-and-forth battle up until the end, almost every inning saw at least one player cross the plate for both teams.
 
The Cougars found themselves on the board early, as Illiana Jimenez led off with a walk going deep into the count then stole second as soon as the opportunity struck. Broussard's bunt for a hit moved Jimenez from second to third. Broussard stole second, then the Cougars recorded a dead ball as the batter was outside of the box when she got hit by the live ball. With runners in scoring position, Jaramillo hit a sacrifice pop fly to score Jimenez and advanced Broussard. With two outs Jenna Gorman scored Broussard with a double to right center. Abzun hit a single in deep center field giving hope to Gorman that she could score from second, Gorman fell short and was thrown out at home by the center fielder.  
 
With a 2-0 lead for the Cougars Grabowski struck out the Triton leadoff hitter to start the bottom of the first. The Tritons second batter singled to center field and stole second. Then the next batter hit an RBI single to left and advanced to second on the throw to home. Grabowski got the next two Tritons to ground out to end the first inning.
 
With a 2-1 lead over the Tritons, the Cougars freshman Jewett homered on the first pitch of the inning. The Cougars next two batters grounded out and walked. With a runner on first Illiana Jimenez put down a sacrifice bunt to advance Woods who walked. Broussard single through the left side to join Woods on the bases. With two outs and two runners on the Cougars flew out for the third out of the second beating UC San Diego 3-1. 
 
Grabowski took the lead off Triton deep in the count before giving up a walk. The second batter up laid down a sacrifice bunt to move over the runner from first to second. Grabowski gave up a single down the right-field line to put runners on first and third. Gorman attempted to catch the runner from the first steal second, but in the midst of the throw down, the runner at third stole home to tie up the game 3-2. The Tritons second out came from a groundball to Woods and a fly ball to Illiana Jimenez I center field.
 
Jaramillo started off the third inning drawing a walk, Hannah McClure entered the game as a pinch-runner for Jaramillo. Gorman popped up to the shortstop ahead in the count. McClure stole second as Abzun watched four straight balls. Jewett scored McClure with a double, Abzun tried to make it home on the hit but was a hair off and tagged out. With the ball at home plate Jewett tried to stretch her contribution and ran to third, getting tagged out for the third out, the Cougars took back their lead 4-2 over the Tritons.
 
The Tritons leadoff hitter hit one up the middle to Grabowski for a hit, followed by a double through the left side to put runners in scoring position. The Tritons attempted a squeeze bunt but instead left both runners where they were and down an out. The Tritons tied the game 4-4 on a fielder's choice RBI, pushing their luck they tried to score another runner but instead were tagged out at home for the second out. Before the Cougars made a pitching change from Grabowski to Mejia the Tritons crossed the plate for the fourth time. With bases loaded and two out Mejia gave up a two-run double to the left side, they got a Triton to fly out to left field for the third out the Tritons concluded the third holding a 5-4 lead over the Cougars. 
 
Moran started off the fourth fo the Cougars with a single to left field, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Freshman Woods stepped up to the plate with a two-run home run taking the lead from the Tritons 7-5. The next Cougar up to bat grounded out for the first out of the inning. Broussard beat out a single hit to the pitcher and advanced to second on a passed ball. Kayla Jimenez took the Tritons pitcher deep in the count before she hit an RBI double which scored Broussard and bringing the score to 8-5. Jaramillo watched four straight balls pass by her by, once at first, the Cougars hit an infield fly for the second out. Abzun reached first by way of a catcher's interference, moving Jimenez to third and Jaramillo to second. With bases loaded Jewett watched four-straight balls allowing Jimenez to walk home, Jaramillo, and Abzun both advanced one base. Jaramillo scored on Morans RBI single to the shortstop. The Cougars five-run inning came to a halt with a ground ball to the shortstop, but not before they claimed a 9-5 lead over the Tritons.
 
With Mejias first pitch of the fourth inning the Tritons took it long for a 9-6 home run. Following the home run, the Tritons grounded out once and popped up twice to end the inning.
 
The fifth proved to be no luck for the Cougars as they grounded out once and struck out twice. The Tritons though scored twice on two-run RBI single closing the gap 9-8.
 
The Cougars improved their lead to 10-8, due to Jewett's RBI that scored Abzun. The Tritons stepped up to the plate swinging, hitting three RBIs in the bottom of the sixth improving 11-10.
 
The Azusa Pacific not able to produce anything in the top of the seventh wrapped up their final game falling 11-10 to the Tritons.
 
The Cougars return to the field Tuesday, February 13 when they travel to Vanguard for a doubleheader.