Behind the hitting and pitching of junior Erin Halma, the Cougars swept a Golden State Athletic Conference doubleheader from Hope International University, downing the Royals in a variety of fashions, first with a convincing run-ruled 9-1 verdict followed by a nail-biting 3-2 decision that came down to the last out.
Halma produced 5 hits on the day that knocked in 4 runs while she scored another 2, thus having a hand in half of the Cougar runs scored on the day. In the pitcher’s circle she fired 4 innings of no-hit softball before a fifth-inning leadoff home run ruined her perfection. Yet she sealed the nightcap victory with her third strikeout of the game, leaving the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position.
Not a bad day’s work for someone who would prefer to do her job well and go unnoticed.
The Cougars blew open the first game with an 8-run fourth inning, sending 12 players to the plate, 6 of them producing singles, including sophomore Nicole Llorens, who opened the inning with a single to right and later in the frame collected a 2-run single to center that scored Halma and Natalie Mickelson to put the Cougars up 8-0 at the time.
Pitcher Camille Hundley capped the inning by scoring from third base on a passed ball, tallying what would prove to be a key score after the Royals touched Hundley for a run in the top of the fifth. However, she countered with her ninth and tenth strikeouts with runners at first and third to end the game.
For the fourth straight GSAC game, Hundley was in control, retiring 12 of the first 13 batters she faced and not allowing a hit until the fifth inning. In fact, the Royals only 2 hits of the game came in that fifth and snapped Hundley’s string of 25 innings without allowing an earned run to a GSAC team. Nonetheless, she picked up her team-leading ninth win against 5 losses and lowered her ERA to a season-best 2.58.
Halma went 3-for-3 in the first game with 3 RBIs. She and Jen Whitten smacked back-to-back triples to put the Cougars up 1-0 in the third inning. Halma followed in the next inning with a 2-run single to center.
In the second game the Cougars parlayed 5 first-inning singles into a quick 2-0 lead which stood until Hope’s Sheyna Alarcon led off the fifth with a home run to shave the Cougar lead in half.
The Cougars answered in the sixth with a run when Whitten again tripled and came home on Halma’s sacrifice fly to centerfield.
The Royals countered a run in the top of the seventh, moving to within a run at 3-2. They took advantage of the only Cougar error of the day and followed with a 2-out single and a double to push a run across and a mount a threat with 2 runners in scoring position. Halma, though, struck out Angie Abbe on 4 pitches to preserve the victory and pick up her eighth win against 5 losses while lowering her ERA to a team-leading 2.04.
Whitten and Halma both had a pair of hits in the second game, and with the effort Halma raised her batting average to a team-best .395 on the season. Whitten now tops the team with 4 triples.
With the sweep Azusa Pacific improves to 18-10 overall, 6-4 in the GSAC. The Cougars have won 9 of their past 10 games and at 8 games over .500, they are sporting their best record since closing the 2005 campaign 16 games over .500 at 32-16.
