SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Picking up where they left off Thursday, Azusa Pacific's softball team continued racking up offensive stats in game three of their series against Holy Names, winning the opener 11-8 over the Hawks before falling 9-1 in game two Friday afternoon.

Game 1:  Azusa Pacific 11, Holy Names 8

Much like in Thursday's games, the Cougar bats erupted early, sending ten batters to the plate and putting four runs on the board in the first inning.  With one run already in via an error, Catilin DeCanio belted a 3-2 offering into right center field to drive in a pair.  Erica Hanson would drive in a fourth run with an infield single to complete the scoring in the first.  Holy Names would close the gap, scoring a run in the bottom of the inning and adding two more in the third.  The Cougars would get one of those runs back in the top of the fourth when Olivia Smith singled in Amanda Woods to make the score 5-3, but Holy Names would respond with five in the bottom of the inning to claim an 8-5 advantage.

It would not take the Cougars long to respond.  In the top of the fifth, DeCanio put a 1-1 pitch over the wall in right field for a two-run shot, bringing the Cougars back within a run.  Four batters later, Woods would give the Cougars the lead again with a two-run triple.  Woods would later score as part of a double steal, her third run of the game, and Aly Montesino would help the Cougars tack on another run when she reached via an error, scoring Smith to plate the visitors' sixth run of the inning.  That was enough for the Cougars' pitching staff, as Sydnie Sahhar came out of the bullpen to throw 2.1 scoreless innings and was able to get out of a two-on, no-out jam in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the victory.  Smith, DeCanio, and Hanson each had three hits for the Cougars in the game.

Game 2:  Holy Names 9, Azusa Pacific 1 (5 innings)

Holy Names bats continued their hot streak from game one, scoring in every inning in the nightcap.  The Hawks pushed two across in the first, one each in the second and third, and two more in the fourth before the Cougars finally scratched a run of their own across in the top of the fifth inning, courtesy of a Dani Burghardt groundout.  Holy Names was able to pour on three more in the bottom half of the inning, ending the game early.  Smith had two of the Cougars' five hits in game two, while Liz Phillips went four innings in the circle in a losing effort.

By the Numbers:  Smith went 5-6 at the plate for the doubleheader, raising her season batting average to .476.  DeCanio's four RBI in game one doubled her season total to eight.  The Hawks' victory in game two was just their second against the Cougars in their last 18 meetings.