AZUSA, Calif. – Azusa Pacific split its Saturday doubleheader with second-place Concordia, riding a seven-run start and a milestone home run from Caitlin DeCanio to a 7-3 win in game one before falling 2-1 in the second game of the day and last of the series. The Cougars are now 21-11 in PacWest play and remain in third place heading into the final week of the regular season.

Game One: Azusa Pacific 7, Concordia 3

Azusa Pacific made an early statement in the bottom of the first. Julia Doan led off with a double down the left field line, and Caitlin DeCanio followed with a walk. After Sierra Sandoval advanced both runners with a groundout, Izzy Rivera stepped in and launched a two-out, three-run home run to left, giving APU an early 3-0 advantage.

Azusa Pacific struck again in the second. With two outs, Doan worked a walk, and DeCanio followed with a towering two-run homer to center field- her tenth of the season and 30th of her career- making it 5-0. The blast moved her into sole possession of fourth on the program's all-time home run list.

Concordia got on the board in the third, but the Cougars added two more in the fourth. Hailey Burns singled, advanced on a passed ball, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Doan. DeCanio later scored on a Concordia error to make it 7-1.

The Golden Eagles plated two in the sixth on a two-run triple, but Ava Hernandez shut the door from there, tossing a complete game to earn her 10th win of the season. She allowed 10 hits but just three earned runs, striking out six.

Rivera led the offense with three RBIs and a homer. DeCanio finished with a homer, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Doan reached base three times and drove in two, while Sandoval and Emily Zuniga each added two hits. APU committed no errors and turned a double play in the first to stop a potential early scoring threat.

Game Two: Azusa Pacific 1, Concordia 2

The Cougars fell behind 1-0 in the top of the third after the Eagles strung together a single and an RBI double with two outs. But APU responded in the bottom of the fourth. Sandoval ripped a one-out double to the gap in left-center, and Bella Fraser followed with a two-out RBI double to nearly the same spot, scoring pinch runner Rianna De La Barcena and tying the game 1-1.

Azusa Pacific threatened again in the fifth when Burns reached on a single and advanced to third on a two-out single from Doan. But with two runners on, Concordia escaped the inning on a pop-out to short to keep the game even.

The Golden Eagles took the lead for good in the top of the seventh with a two-out double to make it 2-1.

APU went down in order in the bottom of the seventh despite a strong game from Mia Castillo in the circle. The junior tossed a complete game, allowing just two earned runs on eight hits while striking out three on 73 pitches.

Sandoval went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Fraser added the Cougars' lone RBI and a double of her own. Burns, Doan, and Izzy Rivera each had a hit in a six-hit team performance.

Up Next: Azusa Pacific travels to Vanguard on Friday, April 25 for its last series of the regular season. First pitch in Costa Mesa is at 2:00 PM.