Azusa Pacific went 4-0 and pitcher Katie Korstrom pitched 14 innings without giving up a run. Chaminade went 3-1 behind the scorching hot bat of Larchelle Tuifao (9-for-11 with 7 RBI).

2024 Results/Schedule
2024 Standings
2024 Statistics

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Chaminade's Larchelle Tuifao, DP-C, Jr., R/R, 5-2, Ewa Beach, Hawai`i                                                            
Chaminade's Larchelle Tuifao, swung a red-hot bat last week as the Silverswords went 3-1 against Western Oregon and Texas Permian Basin. The junior designated player and catcher went 9-for-11 (.818) which included two homers and seven RBI. The Oahu native also scored four times and walked four times. The 2023 All-PacWest Third Team pick had at least two hits in each game and was 3-for-4 in the opening game against the Falcons with a home run and three RBI. After a 2-for-10 start to the year, Tuifao has now raised her average to a robust .522 on the young season.  

PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Azusa Pacific's Katie Korstrom, RHP, Sr., 5-9, Abbotsford, BC, Canada                                                        
Azusa Pacific's Katie Korstrom won her second straight Pitcher of the Week award after a pair of complete-game shutouts against CS San Bernardino and Adelphi (New York). The senior shutout the Coyotes first with a three-hit blanking, working around four walks while also fanning four CSUSB batters during the 3-0 win. Against the Panthers, the Canadian allowed only two hits and didn't walk a batter in shutting down the No. 19 nationally ranked squad, 2-0. She struck out seven in improving to 4-1 on the season. The PacWest Preseason Player of the Year has a miniscule 0.21 ERA and is also hitting .318 at the plate.

COUGARS WIN FOUR FOR TEAM OF THE WEEK HONORS : The PacWest Team of the Week is the Azusa Pacific Cougars. APU took out a team that is currently 6-3 and was picked to finish third in the CCAA preseason poll (CS San Bernardino). The Cougars set the tone early against the 'Yotes during a 10-1 victory, with Mia Castillo in the pitcher's circle. Castillo went four innings and didn't allow a run, while Caitlin DeCanio paced the offense with a home run and four RBI. Katie Korstrom (see above) shut down the Coyotes in the second game, with Mia Alvarez jump starting the offense with a two-run homer. In a 5-2 victory over Adelphi, Aly Montesino and DeCanio hit home runs to back the four inning shutout work of Felicia De La Torre. Korstrom then went back to work in the nightcap to top the No. 19 ranked Panthers 2-0. She struck out seven and laced two hits herself, while DeCanio added three more base knocks. After an 0-3 start, APU has now won six of their last seven games to improve to 6-4. 

PACWEST NEWS AND NOTES: The PacWest and the entire west region for that matter didn't get much love (again) in today's NFCA National poll (Feb. 20). CS San Marcos is No. 4, Western Washington is No. 16 and Concordia checked in at No. 23...Hawai`i Hilo went 3-1 last week with victories over Hawai`i Pacific and Western Oregon. That included two walk-off wins over the Wolves, 5-4 and 4-3, on Oahu...Concordia swept No. 19 Adelphi, 1-0 and 6-2. Katlin Entrup tossed the complete game shutout in eight innings, allowing just two hits and fanning 11 Panthers. Shelli Faulk walked it off for the Golden Eagles with a home run in the bottom of the eighth...Hawai`i Pacific split games with Texas Permian Basin but were swept by Western Oregon...Dominican won its lone game of the week, topping Simon Fraser 7-4. Taylor Rodriguez pitched a perfect 2.2 innings of relief to get the win...Academy of Art split a doubleheader with Simon Fraser, winning the 1-0 game behind the complete game shutout from Kamielle Powell, who allowed only five hits and struck out four...The Urban Knights also dropped a pair of games to CS East Bay...Biola lost twice to Adelphi...Four teams have winning records through the first few weeks of the season, with all four teams nursing mini winning streaks. Concordia is 6-3 (three in a row), Hawai`i Hilo is 5-1 (three in a row), Dominican is 5-3 (four in a row) and Azusa Pacific is 6-4 (four in a row).  

THIS WEEK IN THE PACWEST: Rain is still potentially a factor, but if all goes well we will see our first PacWest games of the year this weekend. Concordia will actually kick off the week with a non-conference doubleheader at CS East Bay on Wednesday. Biola and Academy of Art will then open the PacWest season with a four-game series on Friday-Saturday, followed by Saturday-Sunday series between Concordia-Dominican and Hawai`i Hilo-Hawai`i Pacific. To stay up to date, visit the PacWest schedule page by clicking here.