AZUSA, Calif. – In a pair of games that were very different despite both having favorable results for the home side, Azusa Pacific swept a doubleheader from Chaminade Tuesday evening at the Cougar Softball Complex, winning 10-2 in the opener before a 6-5 extra-inning affair under the lights.

Game 1:  Azusa Pacific 10, Chaminade 2 (5 innings)

Chaminade took the lead in the top of the first with a pair of runs scored with the bases loaded via a bunt single and a hit by pitch.  But Azusa Pacific would answer swiftly, putting five runs on the board in the bottom half of the inning.  With two on and one out, Dani Burghardt drove in the first run of the game when she reached via an error on a fielder's choice.  Amanda Woods followed that up with an RBI single.  The rally would continue, with the bases loaded and two outs for Aleah Delgado.  The catcher found a hole in shallow right field for a bases-clearing hit, giving the Cougars a 5-2 lead after one.

The Cougars would score in every inning the rest of the way.  Aly Montesino doubled in Olivia Smith in the second.  Ally Chin knocked in a pair as part of five consecutive hits the Cougars strung together in the third.  Erica Hanson singled in another run in the fourth, and the game would end in the bottom of the fifth when Caitlin DeCanio drove in pinch runner Carley Gay.  In the circle, Montesino allowed only a single base runner via a walk after the first inning, earning the complete game victory and improving to 4-0 on the season.  All nine Cougars in the lineup had a hit in the game.

Game 2:  Azusa Pacific 6, Chaminade 5 (8 innings)

Game two looked like it would follow a similar trajectory early on, as the Cougars put four runs on the board in the bottom of the first via a pair of two-run homers.  Montesino hit her team-leading sixth long ball to right field with one out.  Then, three batters later, DeCanio would launch one out to left field, her fifth, doubling the advantage.  But every run would prove crucial, as the Silverswords crept back into the game starting in the third, putting three runs on the board through a walk, a hit-by-pitch, a single, a double, and a sac fly, cutting the advantage to a single run.  The Cougars would pick up an insurance run in the fourth when Izzy Rivera scored from second on a throwing error, making the score 5-3.  

The Cougars were forced to go to the bullpen twice.  Liz Phillips was brought in with the bases loaded and one out, but Chaminade was able to tie the game up.  Phillips stranded three Silverswords on the bases in the inning, then got the first two out in the seventh before giving way to Katie Korstrom, who needed a single pitch to get the final out of the inning.  The Cougars nearly won the game in regulation, but were on the wrong end of a bang-bang play at first to retire the side and send the game into extra innings.  Korstrom worked around a leadoff double in the eighth without incident.  In the bottom half, Rivera led off with her third single of the game.  Pinch hitter Madison Salgado followed with a single to right that put the winning run at third.  Olivia Smith and Chin then both drew walks to force in the winning run.

By the Numbers:  The Cougars improved to 4-1 in extra-inning games this season, and are now 9-1 on the current home stand.  Smith had a stolen base in each game, making her the first player in the PacWest to reach 20 this season.  Delgado's three RBI in the opener were a career high.  Azusa Pacific is 13-4 in games in which Korstrom has pitched this season, including wins in six straight.  The second-year pitcher has allowed just one run in her last 23.2 innings.

Up Next:  Azusa Pacific (22-13, 16-6 PacWest) will conclude their 12-game Hawai'i homestand when they face the Silverswords one more time in a doubleheader Wednesday afternoon starting at 4:00 p.m.  The games can be livestreamed HERE.