AZUSA, Calif. – Academy of Art softball rallied for an advantage two innings into Thursday's Pacific West Conference series finale at Cougar Softball Field, but Azusa Pacific came back with steady offense on both sides of a 50-minute rain delay to secure the 7-2 victory.

Two hits and a walk produced APU's first run of the contest in the opening frame before momentum shifted in the second following a pair of singles from senior catcher/infielder Liberty Herrera and junior infielder/catcher Olivia Glover plus a walk to senior utility Alexis Folks. With the bases loaded, junior infielder Audrey Allen sent the third pitch of her at-bat into left field, doubling home two and providing her team with a 2-1 lead. The double was her 13th of the season, giving her the second-most in the PacWest.

A solo homer from the Cougars began the fourth inning by tying the game then their suicide squeeze bunt gave the home team a 3-2 advantage. Multiple extra-base hits pushed the difference to 5-2 in the fifth, but the end of the frame was held off by a 50-minute rain delay. When action resumed, Azusa Pacific benefitted from a two-run homer in the sixth en route to the 7-2 final.

Academy of Art, now 6-33 overall and 4-20 in PacWest play, saw Allen's 1-for-3 effort push her season batting average to .347 (top 20 in the conference) while her two runs batted in also elevated her team-high total to 18 on the year. Herrera and Glover each finished the day 1-for-2 with a run scored.

The Cougars improve to 21-15 in 2025 and 17-8 in conference action with Sierra Sandoval and Julia Doan combining to go 4-for-5 with two homers and four runs batted in while Ava Hernandez (6-5) earned the pitching victory with two runs allowed on three hits and two walks plus five strikeouts in 6.2 innings in the circle.

Much closer to home for their next series, the Knights will play four at Menlo with a pair of noon doubleheaders across Apr. 11-12.