AZUSA, Calif. – In front of a homecoming crowd, Azusa Pacific overcame a pair of early leads by the visiting Sharks, sweeping Hawai'i Pacific by scores of 4-3 and 3-1 at the Cougar Softball Complex Saturday afternoon.

Game 1:  Azusa Pacific 4, Hawai'i Pacific 3

The Cougars had to work to earn the early victory, as the Sharks struck for three runs in the top of the third inning, putting their runs on the board through a squeeze bunt sandwiched by a pair of fielding errors.  But the Cougars were patient at the plate, cutting the deficit to a single run in the bottom half of the inning, as Ally Chin brought Erica Hanson home with an infield single while Olivia Smith advanced around the bases to third.  Chin and Smith then executed a double steal to plate the second run.

In the fourth, Azusa Pacific struck again.  The Cougars drew a pair of walks to open the inning.  A sacrifice bunt moved the runners over to third, while the Cougars continued to work pitch counts, forcing Sharks starter Taylor Thompson to throw over 100 pitches through the first four innings.  With two out, Hanson came through with a bloop single into right center, scoring both Amanda Woods and Caitlin Decanio to put the Cougars ahead for the first time.  Aly Montesino had put up 4.1 innings in the circle, allowing just three hits, before turning things over to Katie Korstrom, who got out of a two-on, one-out jam and allowed just a single walk over 2.2 innings of relief work to pick up the save.  Smith had two hits and two stolen bases to lead the offense.

Game 2:  Azusa Pacific 3, Hawai'i Pacific 1

As in game one, the Cougars spotted Hawai'i Pacific an early lead before coming back.  The Sharks pushed their run across in the top of the second this time, stringing a pair of hits together with an error to take a 1-0 lead.  But Azusa Pacific again answered immediately.  In the bottom half of the inning, Dani Burghardt led off with a walk, then came around to score on a Woods double to center field.  Woods took an extra base when the throw went to the plate, and would come around to score on a single by Decanio, putting the Cougars ahead, 2-1.

The middle part of the order would come through again in the fourth inning, as Burghardt led off the inning with a double of her own.  Woods sacrificed her over to third, and Decanio hit a ground ball that the pitcher was unable to field cleanly, producing the insurance run.  Defensively, the Cougars turned two double plays to keep the Sharks off the board the rest of the way, allowing Sydnie Sahhar to go 6.1 innings with four strikeouts.  While Hawai'i Pacific was able to put the tying run on base with one out in the seventh, Liz Phillips came in and retired both batters she faced to complete the four-game sweep and earn her second save of the season.

By the Numbers:  Decanio and Burghardt both recorded their 10th double of the season in the doubleheader.  The Cougars' three stolen bases in game one give them a conference-leading 52 as a team on the season.  For comparison, the Cougars had 46 stolen bases in 36 games last year.  The Cougars lowered their team ERA to 2.80 on the season.  Before the game, the team honored head coach Carrie Webber for reaching the 400-win milestone earlier this year in a non-conference game in Arizona.  The Cougars improved to 7-1 on this current homestand.

Up Next:  Azusa Pacific (20-13, 14-6 PacWest) will wrap up this homestand with a four-game series against Chaminade.  The series is scheduled to begin with a doubleheader Monday evening at 4:00 p.m. and can be viewed HERE.