WAIPIO, O'ahu, Hawai'i – The Chaminade University softball team battled their second straight in-region opponent of the season, but couldn't overcome Simon Fraser of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
The Clan swept the Silverswords, 4-3 in 10 innings and 10-0 in five, Monday at Patsy T. Mink Central O'ahu Regional Park.
Chaminade (1-5) clawed back from a 2-0 deficit on
Kaitlyn Watanabe's two-run single in the sixth to help send the game into extra inning. The Clan scored twice in the 10
th to win the first game.
Simon Fraser (2-2) managed to jump all over the Silverswords early in Game 2, striking for four runs in the first inning en-route to the five-inning win.
Game 1The Clan took a 2-0 on run-scoring singles in the first and fourth innings. The 'Sword had their chances to push runs across in the first and fifth innings putting runners at third, but came away empty both times.
Then in the sixth, Chaminade caught a break when lead-off batter
Aja Keyes was safe after the first baseman dropped a throw on a routine grounder to second. Two outs later, Watanabe, who entered the game in the fourth inning to spell
Brett Aspel in the circle, was summoned as a pinch hitter, marking her first plate appearance since April 6, 2013 against Northwest Nazarene. After a wild pitch advanced Keyes and
Jenn Betian up a base, the senior rewarded head coach
Kent Yamaguchi's gamble by shooting the pitch back up the middle, scoring both runners, tying the game at 2. It was Watanabe's first hit and RBI since the NNU game.
The Silverswords then had something cooking in the seventh, opening the frame with back-to-back singles by
Sierra Mendiola and
Shannan Hokama. But Mendiola was nabbed at third trying to advance on a dirt ball, then Phelps lined into an inning-ending double play. They also had the winning run at third in the ninth, but could not get the runner to the plate.
In the 10
th with the international scoring rule in effect (placing the last out of the previous inning at second base to begin the frame), SFU managed to push two runs across to take a 4-2 lead.
Then in Chaminade's half of the inning with Hokama placed on second, Phelps had an infield single, then two batters later, Betian drew a walk to load the bases with one out. Clan shortstop Danielle Raison then booted
Kristiann Endow's bouncer, allowing Hokama to scamper home to make it 4-3 and putting the winning run at second. The next batter,
Coco Stewart, then hit a short blooper towards the middle, but SFU second baseman Stephanie Caron made a sensational diving catch going towards her right in front of the second base bag. Then while still on the ground, Caron made a sidearm flip to Raison for the double play and in the process, saving the game for the Clan.
SFU's Kelsie Hawkins (1-0) got the win in relief, going 4.1 innings, allowing a run on four hits while striking out four. Watanabe took the loss to fall to 0-2, despite seven innings of relief.
Hokama was 3-for-5 at the dish with a run scored at the lead-off spot while Phelps had two hits. The Clan managed to get 11 hits off CUH pitching while the 'Swords mustered nine.
Game 2The after-effects of the stunning Game 1 loss may have played a role in the second game's beginnings. SFU brought nine batters to the plate in the first inning, grabbing a 5-0 lead off
Luana Moreno, making her first career start, although none were earned.
The Clan tacked on two more runs in the second and added three more in the fifth to put the run-rule in effect. Meanwhile the Silverswords were only able to get a runner on third once in the game as SFU starter Alia Stachoski limited them to five hits.
Stachoski picked up the win to improve to 1-1, going the distance and striking out four. Alex Baylak had two hits for the Clan. Third baseman Stephanie Sheard, whose throwing error was the walk-off winner for the Silverswords in the Tournament of Champions last spring, atoned for her mistake by driving in three.
Moreno got the loss to drop to 0-2.
Nicole Erichsen went 2-for-2 at the plate, including a double, Chaminade's only extra base hit of the game.
Amber Manuel also was 2-for-2.
Chaminade returns to action Thursday when they host Pacific University at CORP Field. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 4:30 p.m. with live streaming audio on GoSwords.com.
