BELMONT, Calif. – Azusa Pacific improved to 7-1 on the road trip, as the Cougars took both games of Monday's doubleheader at Notre Dame de Namur. Azusa Pacific won game one 8-0, and then won 7-4 in the second game.
 
Game One: Azusa Pacific 8, Notre Dame de Namur 0
 
The Cougars notched their third shutout victory of the road trip in game one, as senior Racqual Espinoza threw six scoreless innings, and then freshman Jahzell Estrada came on in relief and closed the game out with a scoreless seventh inning. Espinoza scattered five hits over six innings, and improved her record to 11-7 overall.
 
Azusa Pacific broke the scoreless game in the top of the second inning, as senior Cayla Broussard singled, and a run crossed the plate off of an error by the Argonauts' center fielder. The Cougars would increase their lead to 2-0 in the top of the third, as senior Melanie Abzun hit a solo home run for her sixth home run of the season.
 
Azusa Pacific added four more runs to its lead the in the top of the sixth inning. Junior Megan Tucker put the first run of the inning on the board, as she hit an RBI double to make it 3-0 Cougars. Broussard then added the second run, as she hit into a fielder's choice that scored junior Daniella Toschi from third. A little later in the inning, freshman Dani Burghardt came to the plate with the bases loaded. Burghardt put the Cougars up 5-0 with a RBI single, that scored one run and once again gave Azusa Pacific a bases loaded situation. Following a flyout, junior Emily Moran stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. Moran singled home two runs in the at-bat, giving Azusa Pacific a 7-0 lead.
 
The Cougars would score one more in the seventh, as Broussard reached on an error, that also allowed sophomore Becca Jewett to score on the play.
 
Abzun, Moran, and Jewett each finished with two hits, while Moran also had two RBIs in the game.
 
Game Two: Azusa Pacific 7, Notre Dame de Namur 4
 
Notre Dame de Namur struck first in game number one, as the Argonauts held a 1-0 lead after the bottom of the first inning. The Cougars would trail through the second inning, however, Azusa Pacific scored four runs in the third inning, and two runs in the top of the fourth to take a 6-1 lead.
 
The Cougars scored their first run in the third inning off of a sacrifice bunt from Burghardt, which tied the game at 1-1. Azusa Pacific would take a 2-1 lead in the ensuing at-bat, as Abzun came through with an RBI single. Moran then put the Cougars up 3-1, as she hit an RBI double that scored Abzun all the way from third. Azusa Pacific kept the momentum going, by way of an Argonaut error that allowed Jewett to reach safely and Moran come around to score from second base.
 
In the fourth inning, freshman Ashley Kincaid led off with a double, and junior Brielle Fraijo drove her in with an RBI single with no outs. Fraijo scored with one out in the inning, as sophomore Amanda Woods hit an RBI single to push the Cougar lead up to 6-1.
 
Notre Dame de Namur would finally halt the six run unanswered streak for the Cougars in the bottom of the fourth, as Aurora Adams hit a lead-off homerun in the inning to make the score 6-2, Azusa Pacific.
 
Azusa Pacific would add one more insurance run in the top of the seventh, as Jewett hit an RBI triple, her first of the year, which gave the Cougars a late 7-2 advantage. Notre Dame de Namur would threaten in the bottom of the seventh, as the Argonauts scored two runs in the inning to cut the lead down 7-4.
 
Freshman Jahzell Estrada notched her first collegiate start of her career, as she picked up the win over five innings thrown. Estrada allowed just two earned runs on three hits, while also striking out two batters. Senior Megan Mejia came on in relief for the Cougars, as she pitched the sixth and seventh innings, allowing two earned runs on two hits.
 
Up Next: The Cougars improved to 28-14 overall, with a 19-8 PacWest record. Azusa Pacific will close out the 10 games in five days road trip tomorrow, as the Cougars and Argonauts will play a doubleheader starting at 11:00 a.m.