APU lost the series 1-3, but avoided the sweep with a game two that was one for the history books

 

Azusa Pacific came into Dixie State on a relatively high note after sweeping rivals Biola and winning three of their four games in the Tournament of Champions. While Dixie State took three of the four games, the Cougars came away with one of the most thrilling victories in program history, in game two with a final score of 21-19.

“The win was our highlight. It was a really cool game to be a part of,” Head Coach Carrie Webber said. “Overall it was nice to come in and get a win, but, obviously, those other three we didn’t quite play up to the standard to take down a number five-seed like them. They are a really disciplined team and that’s the way it goes.”

Game one of the four-game series was not kind to the Cougars. Dixie State pitcher Hazel Cambrie threw a no-hitter, which paired well with the Trailblazers’ 10 hits on offense. Dixie State took that game 8-0.

The Trailblazers looked to continue their hot streak against APU in the second game, going up 12-0 in the first two innings.

“We were down by a lot, but we said, ‘you know what, let’s just make the most of this. It is really early in the game, you know, let’s have fun. Yes this is a good team, yes the odds are against us right now, but let’s make the most of the time we have out here,” senior first-baseman Kayla Jimenez said. “I think that helped keep our attitudes up. We were trying to have a positive mindset and not get too down on ourselves, especially being that early in the game.”

The positive attitude paid off in the third inning, when freshman Amanda Woods hit a solo home run. Sophomore catcher Jenna Gorman followed that up with a double to score two runs, and the Cougars suddenly found some life. The Cougars scored another three runs in the fourth inning, but Dixie State responded as well. Going into the fifth inning, the score was 6-17.

Azusa Pacific scored nine runs in the fifth inning to cut the Trailblazers’ lead to two runs. Woods singled to bring in a run, senior Illiana Jimenez drove in a run, junior Cayla Broussard drove in two on an error, Gorman brought a run home and Kayla Jimenez and Melanie Abzun hit back-to-back home runs to make the score 15-17.

“I think a lot of things changed. We were starting to pick each other up and I think when someone goes up and gets a good hit, you come up and feel more confident,” Jimenez said. “I think coming in after getting those first three runs, we thought ‘we can do this. I’m going to pick up my teammates and keep swinging away’ and that really helped us.”

The momentum carried into the sixth inning when the Cougars scored three runs, taking the lead on Kayla Jimenez’s single. Dixie State tied the game at 18 in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Azusa Pacific would take the lead for good in the seventh inning on hits from Woods and Becca Jewett.

Not only was the offense a major key in the victory, but so was the pitching. Webber turned to senior Anneliese Davis, who had not pitched since her freshman year. Davis allowed only two runs over three innings and sealed the victory for the Cougars.

“We have a couple of pitchers that are injured, so being down a pitcher or two, and [Dixie State] kind of beating up the couple that we have, I thought ‘well, we might as well warm up everything we’ve got,” Webber said. “I asked Anneliese if she could go and she said ‘sure.’ She went in there, having not thrown for two years, and did a phenomenal job. Just lights out.”

The Cougars’ offense trailed off a bit in the third and fourth games, where they fell 7-2 and 15-1.

Azusa Pacific is now 12-19 this season and will pick back up on Wednesday, April 4th for a doubleheader against Concordia, in what has historically been a rivalry between the two programs.

“Concordia is always going to be a good game. That is our rival, even though they say Biola or CBU are our rivals, we have our thing with Concordia,” sophomore Emily Moran said. “It’s a fun game because everyone is going all-out. Concordia is having a good season, but I think if we can beat a team like Dixie State, score 21 runs against them, then we should be able to carry over that hitting against Concordia, especially since it is such a big game. Those are the most fun games to play in.”