TURLOCK, Calif. –  Hot off an 11-1 homestand, Azusa Pacific was able to keep their momentum going on day one of the Tournament of Champions hosted by Stanislaus State, defeating the hosts in a wild 12-7 affair Friday morning before walking off with a 6-5 extra-inning victory against Cal State Dominguez Hills in the afternoon session.

Game 1:  Azusa Pacific 12, Stanislaus State 7

Azusa Pacific built a big lead in game one, then had to hang on.  The Cougars put three on the board in the first inning, all with two outs.  Dani Burghardt drove in Olivia Smith with a single to left.  After consecutive singles from Amanda Woods and Caitlin DeCanio loaded the bases, Sommer Quinones drove in a pair with a base hit up the middle.  Stanislaus got on the board with a run in the second.  But the Cougars turned a double play to limit the Warriors to one run.  Woods got that run back in the top of the third with a bunt single, making it 4-1.  The Cougars loaded the bases again for Quinones, who brought in another run with a sac fly.  After a walk loaded the bases yet again, Erica Hanson and Smith hit back-to-back singles up the middle to drive in a run each.  Ally Chin drove in the fifth run of the inning with an RBI groundout to complete the rally, giving the Cougars an 8-1 lead after 2 ½ innings.

Stanislaus would claw their way back into the game, putting a run on the board in the fourth before breaking through in the sixth.  The Warriors put the first two batters on in the inning, which brought Liz Phillips in from the bullpen for Azusa Pacific.  Stanislaus greeted her with a bunt single, an RBI single to left, and a three-run triple down the right field line, cutting the Cougars' lead to 8-6.  Stanislaus would get another run and had the tying run at second base with one out in the sixth, but Phillips was able to induce a ground out and a routine fly to center to keep the narrowest of leads going to the seventh.  Smith led off the last inning with a single just over the shortstop's reach, then stole second.  After Aly Montesino drew a one-out walk, Burghardt hit a fly ball to left that was dropped, giving the Cougars a crucial insurance run.  Woods reached on an error, loading the bases once more, and DeCanio came through, clearing the bases with a three-run double into right center, her fourth hit of the game and the Cougars' 15th.  Phillips shut the door with a 1-2-3 seventh to earn the Cougars' ninth win in a row.

Game 2:  Azusa Pacific 6, Cal State Dominguez Hills 5 (10 innings)

Dominguez Hills got the scoring started with a solo home run with two out in the top of the second.  The Toros would add to their lead thanks to a pair of errors in the fourth, plating two and stretching the lead to 3-0.  Azusa Pacific left a runner on third base three times in the first five innings.  Game two starter Katie Korstorm went 4.2 innings, including striking out the side in the third, before turning things over in the circle to Sydnie Sahhar.

In the sixth, the top of the Cougars' lineup finally broke through.  Three straight singles led to the first run.  Then with two out and two on, DeCanio again came through with a two-run double to right center, tying the contest at 3-3, which is where the game would remain all the way until the 10th inning, with both teams stranding multiple runners in extras with international tiebreaker rules in play.  The Toros finally broke the deadlock with two runs in the top half of the inning.  Montesino led off the bottom half with an RBI double to left center, immediately cutting the deficit in half before being lifted for Grace Brown, pulled into duty as a pinch runner.  Three batters later, the bases were loaded with one out for Quinones, who singled down the third base line to plate Brown and tie the game.  Aleah Delgado followed up with a sac fly to center, bringing in Woods to complete the rally and run the win streak to 10.  Sahhar allowed two runs (one earned) over 5.1 innings of relief to pick up the victory.

By the Numbers:  The current 10-game winning streak is the longest the Cougars have had since a 13-game run late in the 2016 season.  Azusa Pacific has won 14 of its last 15 overall and is now 5-1 in extra innings this season.  At the time of the Toros' home run, Korstrom had allowed just one run in her last 33 innings pitched.  It was only the sixth home run the Cougars have allowed this season.  In non-conference play, Azusa Pacific now owns a win over three of the top four teams in the current CCAA standings (CSU San Marcos, CSU Dominguez Hills, and Sonoma State).