LA MIRADA, Calif. - It was a thrilling matchup indeed as Azusa Pacific and Biola faced eachother in the first round of the PacWest tournament, which was their fifth time this season. The Cougars ended up falling to the Eagles 1-0 in a close battle that came down to the final out. Katie Korstrom threw her 17th complete game of the season, striking out three and only allowing five hits compared to the Cougars six. Bella Fraser was the only Cougar to turn in a multi-hit game as she went 2-for-2 at the plate. 

How it Happened: Azusa Pacific found themselves with runners on in the first inning as Carley Gay singled up the middle and Korstrom reached on an error, but Biola went to the plate in the bottom of the first scoreless. Korstrom sat the Eagles down in order in the first and the second provided the Cougars with some key opportunities that they were not able to capitalize on. A single from Sierra Sandoval then another error by Biola put runners on first and second for Azusa Pacific with one out. Fraser then drew a walk, but the Eagles were able to escape the bases loaded jam with no damage.

Biola put together the same situation in their half of the the third, when three consecutive singles gave them bases loaded with no outs. The Cougars were able to quickly work their way out of the jam, turning a double play and inducing a groundout. 

The bottom of the fourth was when Biola was able to squeak a runner across due to a fielding error and a single, which allowed the Eagles to take a 1-0 lead.

Azusa Pacific strung together two hits to put runners on first and second for the Cougars with one out, but could not plate the equalizer, falling in the first round to Biola 1-0. 

Up Next: The Cougars will be back in tournament action tomorrow against Hawai'i Pacific in an elimination game that begins at 2:00 p.m. You can live stream the game HERE, and you can click HERE to find all tournament information. 

POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE: Carrie Webber, Katie Korstrom & Carley Gay