Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 WAIPIO, Hawai'i – It seems like a Groundhog Day effect for each home doubleheader played at Patsy T. Mink Central O'ahu Regional Park by the Chaminade University softball team.
On Tuesday, the Silverswords split a Pacific West Conference doubleheader against Academy of Art, winning the first game, 9-8 in eight innings, as freshman shortstop
Jenn Betian helped send the game into extra innings with a two-run game-tying single in the sixth, then delivering a walk-off single in the eighth. The Urban Knights took the nightcap, 12-3. It's the fifth consecutive home twinbill split by the 'Swords this season.
The Silverswords remained two games under .500 at 7-9 overall and 6-8 in the PacWest while the Urban Knights are 6-14 and 4-7.
Game 1
Chaminade rallied from a 3-run deficit by scoring the game's final four runs. The Silverswords plated three runs in the sixth inning then won it in extra innings.
Down 8-5 in the sixth inning, the Silverswords led off the frame with back-to-back singles from
Ashley Phelps and
Samantha Ford, followed by an
Aja Keyes walk, which loaded the bases with no outs.
Ciana Russ then hit a scalding liner so hard towards right field, it removed the glove off the hand of second baseman Lexie Hernandez, allowing Phelps to scamper home and moving everyone up a base. After Ford was retired at home on
Shannan Hokama's bouncer to shortstop, Betian tied the game at 8 on a liner to center, bringing Keyes and Russ home.
In the eighth, Keyes led off with a single then got to second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Betian delivered again, lining a two-out, 2-2 pitch into center scoring Keyes for the walk-off winner.
Chaminade got on the board in their half of the first after spotting the Urban Knights a 2-0 lead on Keyes' RBI single scoring
Elia Lizarraga.
CUH took a 3-2 lead in the second as Hokama and Betian led off with singles. After a
Kristiann Endow sacrifice bunt, the 'Swords tied it at 2 when a throwing error by shortstop Lauren Stover trying to get Betian at second was thrown away, allowing Hokama to cross the plate. Phelps then singled to a diving Stover, but Betian scored anyways, giving Chaminade the lead.
After Art U tied it at 4 in the third, the Silverswords tied it in their half of the inning when Endow, who was hitless through her first 21 at-bats of the season, finally delivered her first base knock of the season, a liner up the middle allowing Keyes to score the equalizer.
Again, the Urban Knights took a 5-4 lead in the fourth, but the 'Swords responded as Keyes hit an opposite field single to right, which was misplayed by the right fielder and rolled all the way to the fence. That allowed Ford, who singled to earlier, to come home all the way from first. Art U put up three in the fifth, setting up the sixth and eighth inning heroics from Betian.
Brett Aspel got the win in relief, throwing two innings as she retired 6-of-7 batters she faced while Carlee Emerson was charged with the loss, dropping her record to 1-7 on the season.
Chaminade tied a season-high with 15 hits in Game 1 with Keyes going 4-for-4 at the dish with an RBI and two runs scored. Betian, who started the night with five hits all season, went 3-for-5 with her first three career RBIs. Phelps and Ford had two hits and a run each.
Centerfielder Elyse Cordova went 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs for Art U while third baseman Taylor Thurman was 3-for-4, driving in four. Two of Thurman's hits were doubles.
Game 2
Art U pushed a run home in the third but Chaminade got the run back when Endow powered an opposite field shot to deep right for her first collegiate homer.
But the Urban Knights plated seven runs in the fourth, capitalizing on three Silversword errors. Art U had three hits in the inning, but two went for extra bases. All the runs allowed by Aspel, who got the Game 2 start were unearned.
Chaminade scored its second run of the game on Keyes' solo dinger to right, her third homer of the season. The 'Swords tried to rally, but left the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth innings as Urban Knights' starter Jill Johnson would work out of both jams.
Art U added more insurance runs in the seventh with four more, making it 12-2. In the Chaminade seventh, Lizarraga got an infield single followed by freshman pinch hitter
Kylie Nishino's first career base knock which deflected off the third base bag. Ford then doubled to the right center gap, allowing Lizarraga to score easily. Urban Knights' first baseman Jasmine Dickenson then saved two more runs when she snagged Keyes' screaming liner which was headed to right field.
Aspel (3-7) was tagged with the loss after going 3.2 innings, although six of the seven runs she allowed were unearned. Johnson (4-6) got the win with eight strikeouts and at one point, K'd six straight Silverswords.
Lizarraga and Ford went 2-for-4 for Chaminade. Cordova was 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs while Thurman was 3-for-4 with four RBI.
Ford was a combined 4-for-9 on the evening while Keyes went 5-for-8 with three runs to lead the 'Swords. Conversely, both Cordova and Thurman had nights to remember against Chaminade. On the evening, Cordova was 7-for-10 with four runs while Thurman was 5-for-8 with seven RBI.
The Silverswords returns to CORP Field on Thursday when they face former NAIA power Lubbock Christian, the 2013 NAIA national runners up, in a doubleheader starting at 4:30 p.m. Live streaming audio will be available on goswords.com.
