Azusa, Calif. – Azusa Pacific's softball team used a dominant pitching effort to sweep a doubleheader in their first-ever meeting against Saint Katherine Tuesday evening at the Cougar Softball Complex, winning a pair of shutouts by scores of 8-0 and 5-0.

Game 1: Azusa Pacific 8, Saint Katherine 0 (6 innings)

The Cougars struck early, putting two runs on the board within the first four batters of the game.  The score would remain at that 2-0 margin until the sixth inning, as freshman pitcher Aly Montesino tossed a two-hit shutout, at one point retiring 13 Firebird batters in a row.  In the bottom of the sixth, the Cougar offense exploded for six runs while only getting one batter out.  Becca Jewett hit a two-run home run to left that made the score 4-0, and later three runs came around on a single by Kinsey Erickson that skipped past the center fielder and rolled all the way to the wall, allowing Erickson and the two baserunners ahead of her to all score on the play.  The game ended when Brielle Fraijo singled home Erica Hanson to provide the winning margin.

Game 2:  Azusa Pacific 5, Saint Katherine 0

Game two saw the Cougars held off the scoreboard until the third inning, when they erupted for four runs on five hits.  The Cougars loaded the bases with one out, at which point Montesino drove in the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly.  Jewett followed that up with a two-run single to make it 3-0, and she would in turn score on a fielding error one batter later.  Katie Korstrom threw four shutout innings, striking out four while allowing just three hits to get her second win of the season in her first start, while Elizabeth Phillips threw three hitless innings of relief, with Fraijo turning in a pair of defensive gems to end the fourth inning and begin the fifth.

By the Numbers:

Montesino needed a total of eight pitches to retire the side over the fourth and fifth innings of Game 1.  In the fourth inning, all three pitches she threw resulted in groundouts to shortstop Amanda Woods.  Jewett's home run was the third the Cougars have hit this season after hitting just four as a team over 21 games last year.  The Cougars stole six bases in the doubleheader, giving them 10 through four games.  Korstrom has yet to allow a run in 10 innings pitched in her Cougar career.  The Firebirds did not get a runner to third base until the final inning of Game 2.  Fraijo had five hits over the doubleheader, raising her batting average to .500 on the season.

Up Next:  The Cougars now begin conference play in the difficult Southern California pod where they will play 12 games each against Biola and Concordia, starting with a doubleheader at Biola on Saturday.