SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women softball came close to a split as their bats came alive in the second game of the doubleheader, but fell 3-0 and 10-8 Sunday to the hot hitting of Azusa Pacific University.

Sophomore infielder Alyssa Ramirez led the Penguins (7-23, 4-16 PacWest) from the plate, going 3-for-7 with a walk and three RBI on the day. Junior outfielder Mckenzie Schumacher added a 2-for-4 performance in the second game with a run and two RBI.

Racqual Espinoza was lights out for the Cougars (26-14, 17-8 PacWest) in the first game, allowing four hits in a complete game shutout. Calya Broussard sparked the APU's offense in the second game, going 3-for-4 with a stolen base and three runs, while Brielle Faijo went 2-for-3 with two runs. 

Game One

In what was a windy day, the Cougars took advantage of a brief calm to take the lead with a big fourth inning. Becca Jewett took an inside pitch and lifted it over the left-center fence to give the Cougars the first run of the game to lead off. Emily Moran doubled to the left center on the next at bat and Daniella Toschi knocked a 2-run homer to left for the 3-0 lead. Lauren Persi entered in relief and ended the threat with the help of a diving catch in foul territory by left fielder Karitza Reyes.

The Penguins escaped an early bases-loaded jam in the top of the second inning as starting pitcher Rosa Leguria forced Megan Tucker to line out to Alyssa Waltman at shortstop to strand Jewett, Moran, and Toschi on the base paths.

Dominican threatened to break the tie in the bottom of the third as Waltman reached on a 4-pitch walk and Christensen singled on a hard hit to third base that was too hot for Jewett to handle. Ramirez kept the Penguins rolling drawing another walk from Espinoza with two outs to load the bases. The rally was short-lived as Espinoza forced a pop up to end the inning. 

Schumacher prevented any more Cougars from crossing the plate in the sixth with two great defensive plays. First, Schumacher prevented an extra-base hit as she cleanly fielded a laser to center off the hop before chasing down a laser to the right-center gap for a phenomenal over the shoulder catch on the run.

Game Two

The Cougars got off to a hot start as Broussard singled to lead off and quickly stole second to move into scoring position. Brielle Fraijo laid down a routine sac bunt and Dani Burghardt flied out to left field to allow Broussard to tag up and cross home plate for the first run of the game. After a single and a walk with two outs, a misplayed ball in center allowed two more runs to cross the plate and make it 3-0 APU. 

An early error in the top of the second allowed Jenna Gorman to reach safely and ultimately extended the frame as Burghardt singled up the middle to score Broussard and Gorman to extend the lead to 5-0.  Dominican's bats finally woke up in the bottom of the frame as Dahlen Dennis reached on an error to lead off the frame. Mott then singled down the left-field line and Reyes reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases with one out. Haley Cheek singled down the left field line to score Dennis and force a pitching change. 

Kat Ung entered in relief, but was unable to slow Dominican down. Waltman reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Mott to score on and cutting the Penguins' deficit to three. Mady Christensen walked to load the bases again with two outs and Schumacher lifted a pitch over the first baseman to bring home two more. Schumacher then stole second to put two runners in scoring position and Ramirez came through with shot through the middle to give the Penguins their first lead of the day at 6-5. 

The Cougars responded as Toschi doubled to left center with two outs in the top of the third to bring around Jewett from first to tie the game at 6. In the top of the fourth, Abzun singled to center to give the Cougars back the lead as Broussard jogged in with ease from third. Moran kept the momentum going, singling to left field to bring home Fraijo for the 8-6 advantage. The Cougars added on an additional two runs in the top of the sixth taking a 10-6 lead into the final stretch. 

The Penguins made things interesting as Schumacher singled to center with runners on the corners to bring home Haley Cheek and Ramirez added a single of her own to shallow center to score Christensen and cut the deficit to 10-8, but it was as close as they would get.

The Penguins will take the field again Tuesday against the visiting Biola University Eagles. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for noon PDT. Live stats will be available online.