AZUSA, Calif. — Azusa Pacific swept Hawai'i Pacific in Friday's doubleheader at the Cougar Softball Complex, edging the Sharks 4-3 in a walk-off finish in game one before holding on for a 5-4 win in game two. The Cougars used a bases-loaded walk from Sydney Juarez to end the opener, then got another strong offensive effort in the nightcap from Julia Doan, Hannah Tipton and Bella Fraser to secure the sweep.
Game One: Azusa Pacific 4, Hawai'i Pacific 3
Fraser's RBI came as part of a steady offensive day for the Cougars, who finished with 11 hits and got a four-hit performance from Alexus Corona to secure the walk-off win.
Hawai'i Pacific struck first in the opening inning, using a double and a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead. Azusa Pacific answered immediately in the bottom half. After Julia Doan singled and Hailey Burns reached on an error, Hannah Tipton lifted a sacrifice fly to left to bring home the tying run before Fraser followed with a two-out RBI single to shortstop that gave APU a 2-1 advantage.
The Sharks pulled even in the third making it 2-2.
From there, Ava Hernandez settled in for the Cougars. The right-hander struck out eight over 6.2 innings, allowing three runs on four hits while working around five walks. She kept Hawai'i Pacific off the board from the fourth through the sixth to give the Cougars a chance late.
Hawai'i Pacific broke the tie in the top of the seventh after a two-out walk and stolen base set up a double to left center to give the Sharks a 3-2 lead.
Azusa Pacific immediately responded in the bottom of the the inning. Burns singled to open the frame, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Tipton and scored when Corona doubled to left field to even the score at 3-3.
Analise Reyes came on in relief and shut the door from there, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings and striking out two to earn the win.
In the bottom of the ninth, Tipton drew a leadoff walk and Corona doubled to left center to put runners at second and third. Fraser then worked a walk to load the bases, and after a fielder's choice at the plate kept the game alive, Sydney Juarez drew a bases-loaded walk to force in the winning run.
Corona paced the Cougars at the plate, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI. Doan added two hits and a run scored, while Fraser went 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI. Juarez also drove in a run for Azusa Pacific.
Game Two: Azusa Pacific 5, Hawai'i Pacific 4
Hawai'i Pacific jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with runs in each of the opening two innings.
Azusa Pacific answered in the bottom of the second. Doan sparked the inning and later came around to score, while Tipton delivered a two-RBI hit to even the score at 2-2.
The Cougars broke through in the sixth with their biggest inning of the game. With runners on, Tipton came through again with a clutch two-RBI hit, and Corona followed with an RBI to give Azusa Pacific a 5-2 advantage.
Hawai'i Pacific responded with two runs in the seventh to cut the deficit to one, but the Cougars were able to close it out and secure the 5-4 victory.
Doan led Azusa Pacific offensively, going 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Tipton drove in a team-high two RBIs, while Fraser added two hits and scored once.
In the circle, Azusa Pacific combined for a complete-game effort, allowing six hits while striking out six.
With the pair of wins, Azusa Pacific improved to 17-15 overall and 10-8 in conference play.
Up Next: APU returns to the Cougar Softball Complex to finish its 4 game series against HPU tomorrow (Saturday) March 21. First pitch of Game 1 is at 12:00 p.m.
