KANEOHE, Hawai'i — Hawai'i Pacific University freshman Emiliee Leonard crashed a walk-off home run to lead the Sharks to a split of Monday's doubleheader with Azusa Pacific in PacWest Conference action at Howard Okita Field.
 
The home run was the Sharks (8-4, 3-1) lone score in the 1-0 game two and was salve after the Cougars (13-6, 5-1) won the first game 3-2 in eight innings.
 
Leonard won the game both with her bat and her arm, as the righthander from LaMirada, Calif./Saint Paul, shutout the Cougars on four hits with three strikeouts. She was also the only Shark to have two hits in the game.
 
Shortstop Sierra Diaz, a freshman from Mililani, Hawai'i/Bishop Gorman, was 3-for-6 for the doubleheader.
 
HPU and APU meet again on Tuesday at Howard Okita Field in a game moved up to Noon.
 
Game One
 
The first of two pitchers' duels saw all the scoring come in the late innings as Azusa Pacific claimed a 3-2 win in eight innings.
 
The Sharks plated two runs in the sixth inning when Kayla Sanchez opened the inning with a single. Then Dominique Walker grounded to APU shortstop Cayla Broussard, who bobbled the grounder and compounded her error by throwing the ball wide at first and allowing Sanchez and Walker to advance. But the play wasn't over as rightfielder Emily Moran had the ball slip from her hand on the throw to the infield and Sanchez beat a relay throw to the plate to score the game's first run.  HPU designated player Brazzlyn Tovio-Asato singled to left to drive in Walker. HPU would go on to load the bases, but left the runners stranded.
 
Azusa answered in the top of the seventh with a pair of RBI singles, but ended the inning with a batter called out for leaving first base early, followed by an out on batter's interference.
 
APU took the lead in the top of the eight on three singles, the last an RBI from Kayla Jimenez.
 
The starting pitchers did not figure in the decisions, with APU reliever Megan Mejia (4-1) getting the win with no hits and three strikeouts in 2.2 innings. The Sharks Gabriella Nowack (1-1) got her first loss of the season, allowing four hits and a run and a strikeout in two innings.
 
Game Two
 
The pitching matchup between unbeaten pitcher Leonard of HPU and Kat Ung of APU was a doozy.
 
In the fifth, the Sharks got Mari Kajiwara to third with two out, but left her stranded. In the APU seventh, the Cougars got Moran to second, but left her stranded.
 
That set up Leonard's heroics in the seventh. With a 3-1 count, Ung grooved a pitch that Leonard turned on and deposited it 10-feet from the foul pole in left about 215 feet away.