Junior second baseman Katrina Oviedo hit a two-out, bases loaded single to mercy-rule the Swords in game two. Photo credit: Katie Richcreek
Azusa Pacific swept Chaminade on Wednesday, March 26 at home in the first of back-to-back doubleheaders against the team’s PacWest opponent.
Momentum from the Cougars’ 3-1 game one victory carried over to game two, in which the team took an 8-0 lead in the fifth inning, mercy-ruling the Swords.
“The mental focus we had today was a little bit better than it has been for two games,” head coach Carrier Webber said.
The Cougars brought in five runs in the third inning of game two, giving them the lead needed to defeat the Swords.
Junior second baseman Katrina Oviedo led the Cougars’ offensive efforts for the day, opening with a double in the fourth inning of game one and brought home with an RBI single from sophomore catcher Madison Hernandez. Oviedo later hit a two-out, bases-loaded RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning, sealing the mercy-rule win to wrap up game two.
Junior pitcher Destinee Levesque and freshman pitcher Carly Xepoleas both pitched complete games. Levesque opened the doubleheader with a three-hit performance, allowing just one earned run in the seventh inning. Xepoleas finished with the freshman’s third shutout of the season, a four-hitter.
“The pitchers have been working hard the last week to be very consistent when they go on the mound,” Webber said. “They did a great job; they kept us in the ball game. They allowed one run in 12 innings.”
The pair of wins marks the Cougars’ second sweep this season in conference play, breaking their seven-split run.
“We’ve been trying to break the split curse for a while now. It was nice that we came out and got the first one, which we tend to do,” Webber said. “So I said, ‘We got a little mojo going there at the very end, so hopefully that’ll take us into the next game.’ And sure enough it did.”
The Cougars will host the Swords Thursday for the final two in the four-game series at the Cougar Softball Complex beginning at 4 p.m.