HAYWARD, Calif. - Azusa Pacific completed the series sweep over Academy of Art, defeating the Urban Knights 10-3 and 12-1 on Friday. Offensively, Bella Fraser went 6-for-8 with five RBI, having a four hit game in the first game. Mia Alvarez, Sommer Quinones, Kinsey Erickson, Ally Chin and Aleah Delgado each had multi-hit games as well.
In the circle, Mia Castillo and Katie Korstrom both pitched complete games, being Korstrom's eighth complete game of the season. Combined, they collected nine strikeouts on the day.
GAME ONE: AZUSA PACIFIC 10, Academy of Art 3
The Cougars got on the board first when Aly Montesino drew a two-out walk, followed by a double from Fraser and a single from Jaelah Burrell to score Montesino to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
Academy of Art tied it up in their half of the first, but the Cougars quickly responded. A single from Erickson followed by a double from Alvarez put runners at second and third. Chin then reached on an error to score Erickson to give Azusa Pacific a 2-1 lead. A groundout and a single up the middle gave the Cougars two more runs to go up 4-1.
Azusa Pacific tacked on two more from an Academy of Art error, though the Urban Knights got two more back in the fourth inning to cut the Cougars lead to 6-3. The Cougars immediately responded when a double from Quinones and a walk and stolen base from Rivera put runners in scoring position for Sierra Sandoval who's squeeze bunt scored Quinones, followed by a single from Erickson which gave the Cougars an 8-3 lead.
In the seventh, Fraser gave the Cougars insurance with a 2RBI double to lead the Urban Knights 10-3, which was the final score in game one.
GAME TWO: AZUSA PACIFIC 12, Academy of Art 1
The Cougars scored first once again, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Alvarez led the game off with a walk, found her way to third and scored via a wild pitch.
Azusa Pacific then put up a seven spot in the second inning. Quinones, Delgado and Erickson loaded the bases for Alvarez who drew a walk to go up 2-0. Chin then had a bases clearing triple to right center to give the Cougars a 5-0 lead. The offense did not stop there as Korstrom walked and DeCanio hit her fifth home run of the season, giving Azusa Pacific a commanding 8-0 lead.
In the top of the third, the Cougars tacked on three more when Korstrom reached on a fielding error scoring Erickson, followed by a sacrifice fly from DeCanio to go up 10-0. Fraser continued her strong day at the plate with a 2RBI single up the middle, giving the Cougars a 12-0 lead. The Urban Knights were able to get a run across in the their half of the fifth, but 12-1 was the final as Azusa Pacific ended the series with a five inning run rule victory.
By the Numbers: Fraser currently leads the team in batting average, hitting .404 with 19 hits and six doubles. The Cougars are currently leading the PacWest in batting averaging, hitting .287 as a team with 16 home runs. The pitching staff ranks second with an ERA of 1.43. Korstrom currently ranks ninth in Division II and second in the conference with a .50 ERA, while Castillo ranks sixth in the PacWest (1.11) and Felicia De La Torre ranks tenth (2.08). Korstrom also ranks second in the conference in opposing batting average (.156) and ranks third with 55 strikeouts. Offensively, DeCanio and Alvarez are tied for first in the PacWest with five home runs each.
Up Next: Azusa Pacific will be back in action on Tuesday March 12th when they welcome Hawai'i Hilo to the Cougar Softball Complex at 4:00 & 6:00 p.m.
