Azusa Pacific swept the GSAC regular-season finale doubleheader from Point Loma Nazarene Saturday afternoon at the Cougar Softball Complex, upsetting the NAIA’s No. 3-ranked Sea Lions, 3-0 and 2-1.
The seniors took center stage the first game, and the underclassmen honored them in the second contenst with an improbable sweep, the Cougars’ first over Point Loma in 9 years.
Senior battery mates Camille Hundley and Natalie Mickelson took center stage in the opening game. Hundley dominated in the pitcher’s circle with a sparking 3-hit, complete-game shutout of the Sea Lions. She retired the first 11 batters and did not allow a runner past second base the entire game.
Likely All-GSAC pitcher Tyler Lent of Point Loma Nazarene was equal to the task, limiting the Cougars to just 1 hit – a first-inning double by senior Jen Whitten -- through the first 5 innings of play.
However, Lent and the Sea Lions gambled in the sixth inning, with it lost the gamble and the game. With 2 outs and senior Erika Navarrete, who reached base earlier in inning on a bunt single, now at second base, Point Loma Nazarene issued an intentional pass to Azusa Pacific’s leading hitter, Erin Halma to rather face Mickelson, who had bounced back to the pitcher and struck out in 2 previous at-bats against Lent. However, Mickelson is also No. 2 on Azusa Pacific’s all-time home run chart, and this time she turned on a 3-2 Lent offering and deposited a rainbow bomb deep behind the leftfield fence for a stunning 3-run home run, her sixth round tripper of the season and 28th of her career.
“I’d have to say this is the biggest home run I’ve hit at Azusa Pacific,” said Mickelson. “They got me on low inside pitches at their place last month, so I wanted to make sure that this time I laid off those pitches and swung at something up. As soon as I hit it I knew it was gone.”
The rest was up to Hundley, who struck out the first Sea Lion of the seventh before getting the second batter to pop out to second. Lent tried to redeem herself with a sharp 2-out single to center to prolong the game, but Hundley closed the door by getting the final Sea Lion to pop out to right center to clinch Azusa Pacific’s first victory over Point Loma Nazarene since the 2005 regular-season finale, when ironically then-senior Jessica Mikesell cranked a 3-run home run to leftfield in the fifth inning to lead Azusa Pacific to an 8-5 victory (Mikesell was present today for Michelson’s game-winning shot).
Hundley, who allowed just 4 base runners, walked one and finished with 6 strike outs. Her backwards-K of Jenel Guadagno to lead off the fourth inning was the 400th strikeout of her 4-year career, making her just the second Cougar ever to reach the 400-strikeout plateau. With the victory, her second 3-hit shutout of the No. 3-ranked team this year (she beat Cal Baptist 2-0 back March 7th), Hundley improves to 13-10 on the season.
“I’ve never paid much attention to numbers,” said Hundley. “If you hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t know I was at 400, and to be honest, it doesn’t mean a whole lot. The victory means much more.”
While the seniors didn’t necessarily ride off into the sunset after the first game, they willingly took a backseat to the underclassmen in the second game.
Riding the wave of domination established by Hundley, the junior Halma delivered one of her finest performances in the pitcher’s circle during the second game, holding the Sea Lions scoreless through 6 innings of work while the Cougars moved out to a 2-0 lead.
“It’s always great to follow Camille when she has a performance like she did in the first game,” said Halma. “She lets me know what pitches are working against them, which helps me when I’m pitching. Then she gets them so frustrated that they’re not at their best mentally when they’re facing me.”
Halma helped her own cause in the third inning when the Cougars strung together 3 consecutive 2-out singles, the last being a Halma flare into left field that scored Navarrete from second base to put the Cougars up 1-0.
In the fourth inning, sophomore Bekah Weisser cranked her second home run of the season, a 1-out solo shot just over the left field fence to double the Cougar lead.
The Cougars had multiple chances to put the game out of reach, but were unable to cash in on bases-loaded situations in the third, fifth and sixth innings, eventually leaving 11 runners on base, 8 of which were left in scoring position.
Halma herself had to pitch out of a few jams, including a bases-loaded moment in the sixth inning when the Sea Lions tallied 3 straight 2-out singles. Halma, however, got pinch hitter Kira Wommer to pop out to end the threat. Then in the seventh, with 2 on and 2 outs, Halma went head-to-head with Point Loma’s top power hitter, Mel Gomez, who entered the game with 10 home runs. Halma kept the ball in the park, but Gomez did produce a chopper through the left side to score Point Loma’s first and only run of the day while at the same time move the game-tying run to second base.
With Tarin Lent, who had singled off Halma in her 2 previous at-bats, coming to the plate, Cougar coach Carrie Webber visited Halma in the circle and could have opted to go back to Hundley to get the game’s final out. Instead, she opted to settle Halma and stay with her. The decision paid off when Halma got Lent to bounce into a game-ending ground out.
Halma scattered 8 hits and struck out 3 batters while moving her record to 12-10 on the season.
The game 2 victory gave Azusa Pacific its first sweep of Point Loma since 2000, a season that finished with Azusa Pacific being the first-ever GSAC team to play in the NAIA championship game.
“This is a great way to go out as seniors,” added Hundley. “It certainly shows that we can beat anybody and gives us confidence heading into the playoffs.”
Whitten led all players on the day by going 4-for-7 at the plate with a stolen base, her team-leading 14th swipe of the season. Fellow senior Bailey Blazek was 2-for-5 with a stolen base as well. Navarrete was the only other Cougar to have 2 hits on the day, finishing 2-for-7.
With the sweep Azusa Pacific improves to 26-20 and clinches its first winning season since 2006. In addition, the Cougars close out GSAC play at 12-12. Point Loma Nazarene falls to 41-9 overall, and finishes second in the GSAC at 18-6.
Azusa Pacific now moves on to the first-ever GSAC Postseason Tournament with an automatic bid into the 32-team NAIA Championship Tournament at stake. The Cougars take on Biola University Tuesday (April 28) at noon in a single-elimination game at California Baptist University in Riverside. The winner will then square off with GSAC regular-season champ Cal Baptist in a best 2-of-3 series with the first game following at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
