AZUSA, Calif. – The Azusa Pacific softball team kicked off the PacWest portion of their schedule in perfect fashion as they swept newcomer Menlo in a Friday evening double header.

Game 1: In the opening frame, APU quickly jumped in front as Bella Fraser roped a double down the left field line before being brought home on a well placed ball by Caitlin DeCanio. The Cougars would keep their foot on the gas as Izzy Rivera and Alexus Corona drove in runs of their own before Simone Penuelas built the lead to five with another double to left.

Maddy Debs returned to the circle with her new insurance and rewarded her lineup with four innings of scoreless pitching while only surrendering two hits to the Oaks.

Despite seemingly having no momentum in their favor, Menlo showed signs of life in the top of the fifth as they scored three runs during a two-out rally.

Ava Hernandez was then tabbed to put a halt to the Oaks comeback effort as the Cougars hoped she would be the cure to tame a lineup that was batting nearly .500 with two outs.

The true freshman from Big Valley Christian High School limited the damage in the fifth and made quick work of Menlo in the sixth to keep APU in the driver's seat heading into the final frame.

Menlo once again threatened with a potential spoiler to start off the Cougars' day bringing themselves within one run off a double poked down the left field line. The Oaks looked poised to send the game into extras as Bella Cortez hit a flare towards shallow right, but Izzy Rivera was able to track it down to bring the visiting side's late push to a screeching halt. Hernandez followed suit, forcing a groundout to pick up her first collegiate save and 5-4 win for the Cougars.

Game 2: In the ensuing game, it was all Azusa from start to finish as APU's bats continued to hum and Mia Castillo continued to build on what has been a stellar sophomore campaign.

Stepping into the circle with a season ERA of 2.05, the Guatemala National Team pitcher put together one of her best performances in an APU uniform.

While Emily Zuniga got the Cougars on the board first during what would be a career-night for the shortstop, the Oaks struggled to find an answer for Castillo as Menlo only managed to collect just one base knock through their first four times at the plate.

APU on the other hand was able to put together timely at bats in bottom of the fourth as hits from Sakarah Buckner, Sommer Quinones, and Zuniga extended the lead to four runs. Soon after in the fifth inning, Hannah Tipton would blow the game wide open in favor of the Cougars with a towering two-run shot over the left field fence to make it 6-0.

Back in the circle, Castillo continued her pitching masterclass as she would complete her first complete game shutout of her career in just 68 pitches to send APU headed into Saturday up 2-0 in the four-game set.

Inside the Box Score
- The APU pitching staff held the Oaks' lineup to 10/52 (.192 average) in Friday's doubleheader.
- Five different Cougars would collect multi-hit outings across both games.
- APU pitchers induced 13 flyouts and 22 groundouts.

Game Notes
-  This marks APU's first 2-0 start in PacWest play since 2022 where they took a Thursday doubleheader over Holy Names.
-   DeCanio needs to drive in three runs to reach 100 career RBI's at APU.
-  Castillo lowered her season ERA to 1.63 in 34.1 innings of work.

Up Next
The Cougars will be back in action for the second portion of their four-game series against Menlo starting at 12pm at the Cougar Softball Complex.