SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Azusa Pacific split its Tuesday afternoon doubleheader at Academy of Art, which secured the Cougars a 3-1 series victory.

GAME ONE: Academy of Art 8, Azusa Pacific 5

While the Cougars were able to take an early 1-0 lead on an RBI single from Ally Chin, the Urban Knights answered with a four spot in the bottom half of the first to go up 4-1. Olivia Smith would cut the lead in half in the top of the second, when she hit into a fielder's choice that scored Carley Gay, who had led off the inning with a single. 

In the bottom of the second, Academy of Art would score another four runs to push its lead up to 8-2. The Cougars would respond once again in the third inning, when Caitlin DeCanio hit her third home run of the road trip, sending a ball over the center field fence for a two-run shot that made it an 8-4 ball game. 

The only other run of game one came in the top of the fifth, when Aleah Delgado hit a sacrifice fly.

The Cougars totaled nine hits in the opening game, led by Chin's 2-for-3 performance, and Gay's 2-for-4 effort. 

Liz Phillips started in the circle for the Cougars, pitching two and two thirds inning before Katie Korstrom was called upon in relief. Korstrom pitched the final three and a third of the contest, allowing just two hits and no runs, while striking out four batters.

GAME TWO: Azusa Pacific 10, Academy of Art 9

In similar fashion to game one, it was the Cougars that would score first, followed by a four spot from the Urban Knights in their first trips to the plate. The first runs of the game were scored on a single by Aly Montesino to right field, which the Urban Knights' right fielder had trouble on the play and allowed a pair of Cougar runners to score on an error. 

After a scoreless second inning, the Cougars would pull one run closer in the third to make it 4-3. However, Academy of Art would score five runs on six hits in the bottom half of the third to build a 9-3 advantage. The score would hold through the fourth.

In the top half of the fifth inning, Azusa Pacific's comeback began. With two outs, Montesino stepped to the plate and hit a 1-0 over the left field fence for her fourth home run of the season. After Dani Burghardt kept the inning alive with a four-pitch walk, DeCanio dug into the box. The reigning PacWest Player of the Week delivered, driving the first pitch that she saw for a two-run home run to make it 9-6. The blast was DeCanio's fourth of her freshman season, all of which she has hit on the road trip to the Bay Area. 

After Katie Korstrom held the Urban Knights scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, Azusa Pacific would score another three runs in the sixth to tie the game at 9-9. An RBI single from Gay made it 9-7, followed by an RBI single from Montesino in the ensuing at-bat to bring the score to 9-8. Gay would come across the plate for the tying run on a sacrifice fly by DeCanio. 

Following the bottom of the sixth in which Korstrom once again kept the Urban Knights off the board, Smith would score the eventual game-winning run in the top of the seventh. Chin led off the seventh with a bunt single, and with one out, she stole second base to get into scoring position. Chin would then reach third on a groundout, which brought Smith to the plate with two outs. Smith wasted no time, pushing the first pitch that she saw down the left field line which brought the speedy Chin all the way around to score the go-ahead and eventual winning run. 

Korstrom sealed the deal with a quick 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh to secure the series win and improve her record to 5-1 overall. Korstrom pitched four and two thirds innings of relief, holding Academy of Art scoreless and limiting the Urban Knights to three hits. 

In game two, the Cougars totaled 16 hits, led by a perfect 4-for-4 performance by Montesino. Smith and Chin each finished with three hits, and Amanda Woods joined the multi-hit ranks with a 2-for-4 second game.