SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Azusa Pacific was swept by Dominican (Cal.) in Sunday's doubleheader at Penguin Field, falling 10–5 in the opener before dropping the finale 8–3 to close out the series.
Game One: Dominican 10, Azusa Pacific 5
After both teams were held scoreless through the first four innings, Azusa Pacific broke through in the fifth to take the lead.
Bella Fraser sparked the rally with a base hit and later came around to score off an RBI single from Celeste Camarena, giving the Cougars a 1–0 advantage.
Azusa Pacific added to its lead in the sixth with its most productive inning of the day. Hailey Burns reached on an error an scored off a single from Fraser, while Celeste Camarena delivered the big swing with a three-run home run to push the Cougars in front 5–0.
Camarena led the offense with a perfect 3-for-3 performance, driving in four runs, while Fraser went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Burns also added a pair of hits as Azusa Pacific totaled eight on the day.
Dominican responded immediately in the bottom half of the sixth, turning the game on its head. The Penguins strung together hits and capitalized on walks and defensive miscues, plating 10 runs in the inning to take a 10–5 lead.
Ava Hernandez started in the circle for Azusa Pacific and was strong through four scoreless innings, allowing just six hits while working around traffic. The Cougars turned to the bullpen in the sixth, but Dominican's offensive surge proved too much to overcome.
Azusa Pacific was unable to respond in the seventh, as Dominican closed out the comeback victory to hand the Cougars the loss.
Game Two: Dominican 8, Azusa Pacific 3
Dominican seized control early and never looked back, using a four-run third inning to take the lead and adding four more in the fifth to create separation.
Azusa Pacific was held scoreless through the first four innings before breaking through in the fifth. Reagn Kunkle got the Cougars on the board with a solo shot to left center, and Julia Doan followed with a two-run home run to cut the deficit to 4–3.
Kunkle led the offense with a 2-for-3 performance, scoring once and driving in a run, while Doan's homer accounted for two RBIs. Hannah Tipton and Sydney Juarez also added hits as APU finished with six on the day.
The momentum was short-lived, however, as Dominican answered immediately in the bottom half of the fifth. The Penguins strung together timely hits to extend the lead to 8–3.
Maddy Debs got the start in the circle and worked into the fifth inning, but Dominican's offense broke through with eight runs on 10 hits. Ava Hernandez provided relief and kept the Penguins off the board over the final frames, but the early damage proved too much to overcome.
Azusa Pacific was unable to generate any late offense, as Dominican closed out the game to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Up Next: The Cougars will make a quick turnaround, traveling north to Rocklin to take on Jessup in a four-game series, beginning with a doubleheader on Monday and concluding with another on Tuesday.
