AZUSA, Calif. – Azusa Pacific softball put two more claw marks in the win column Thursday evening, sweeping aside Hawai'i Pacific by final scores of 1-0 and 9-2 at the Cougar Softball Complex.  With the sweep, Azusa Pacific is now guaranteed a spot in the four-team PacWest conference tournament, which will determine the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

Game One:  Azusa Pacific 1, Hawai'i Pacific 0

The game was scoreless going into the bottom of the second, though the Cougars needed the help of Ally Chin throwing out a runner at the plate to keep it that way in the top half of the inning.  Aly Montesino led off the bottom half of the second with a double off the center-field wall.  Two batters later, she was at third with two out when Kinsey Erickson stepped up and hammered the first pitch she saw through the left side of the infield to plate what would prove to be the only run of the game. 

Katie Korstrom would make that single run stand up, throwing a complete game five-hitter for her 20th career shutout, striking out six batters in the process.  Caitlin DeCanio was the only player in the game with multiple hits.

Game Two:  Azusa Pacific 9, Hawai'i Pacific 2

Things were quiet until the bottom of the third in the nightcap.  Then the bottom of the Cougar lineup sprung to life, with Jaelah Burrell and Erickson hitting consecutive singles.  Leadoff hitter Mia Alvarez followed with a double to left center to plate both runners.  Alvarez would in turn come in to score on a DeCanio groundout to put the home team up 3-0.  The Sharks would respond with two in the top of the fourth, but were denied a chance to even things up by a couple of groundouts back to the mound.

In the top of the fifth, Erickson flashed her glove on multiple occasions, making a diving catch for one out and throwing out the next batter, who was attempting to stretch a single into a double.  With the lead at 3-2 and two out in the fifth, Bella Fraser drove in an insurance run with a single through the left side, and later scored herself on another single from Sommer Quinones.  DeCanio and Fraser would each drive in two more runs in the sixth as the Cougars broke the game open, while Sydnie Sahhar went the distance in the circle, striking out three while holding the Sharks offense to four hits.

By the Numbers:  Korstrom's win in game one was the 55th of her Azusa Pacific career, tying her with Carly Xepoleas (2014-17) for the second most in program history.  She is also five strikeouts away from 400.  The Cougars drilled 14 hits in game two, one shy of their season high.  DeCanio's three RBI in game two give her a team-high 27 on the season.  As a team, the Cougars lead the PacWest with a team batting average of .281.

Up Next:  Azusa Pacific (25-16, 16-8 PacWest)  had down the freeway to take on Concordia on Saturday in their final scheduled road games of the regular season.  First pitch in Irvine is scheduled for 12:00 noon.