TURLOCK, Calif. – In their second day of the Tournament of Champions presented by the City Turlock, the Chaminade University softball team split their two games on Saturday, defeating Cal State Dominguez Hills, 4-1, before dropping the second, 8-5, to No. 7 Chico State.
Game 1 vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills
The Silverswords opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning on
Nicole Erichsen's two-out RBI double which scored
Ashlyn Yagin. But the Toros countered in the fifth on a sacrifice fly, tying the game at 1.
But the 'Swords retook the lead in the bottom half of the frame when Erichsen delivered another two-out RBI, a single that drove in
Jenn Betian.
Chaminade then got some insurance in the sixth on
Maureen Hutchinson's first career home run, a two-run shot to left center to put the 'Swords ahead, 4-1.
That's all starter
Luana Moreno needed as she shutdown CSUDH in the seventh to improve to 4-12 on the season, scattering nine hits with three strikeouts.
Rainelle Matsuoka, Erichsen and Hutchinson were each 2-for-3 at the plate as Chaminade defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills for the second straight meeting in the TOC.
Sharie Albert was tagged with the loss to fall to 3-15. Kendelle Messersmith went 3-for-3 for the Toros who fell to 6-30 with the loss.
Game 2 vs. No. 7 Chico State
Chaminade wasted little time in getting on the board, scoring twice in the top of the first. The Silverswords loaded the bases with no outs then scored their first run when the throw from second base to get the force at home was dropped by the catcher with Betian safely crossing the plate.
Coco Stewart then followed with an RBI sacrifice fly which brought Yagin home to give the 'Swords a 2-0 lead.
The Wildcats, ranked seventh in the NFCA Top 25 Poll, got a run back in the bottom of the inning and later tied it at 2 in the fourth.
But the 'Swords answered in the fifth. Matsuoka drew a lead-off walk, followed by back-to-back singles from Erichsen and Stewart, the latter bringing Matsuoka home to give them a 3-2 lead. That led to
Kiana Ulufale's double to left center, bringing home both runners and a 5-2 CUH lead.
But then the mistakes again plagued the 'Swords. An error with two outs in the bottom of the fifth that would've ended the inning resulted in two Chico State runs, cutting Chaminade's lead to 5-4. Then in the sixth, a one-out error resulted led to the go-ahead runs on Haley Gilham's double. After yet another error, the Cats applied the dagger on Olivia Dallara's two-run double to put them up, 8-5. Chico State's final six runs were all unearned.
Kali Kitsinis took the loss to fall to 0-10 on the year. The 'Swords had eight hits, two from Stewart. Meanwhile Hutchinson's fourth-inning single extended her hit streak to 10 games, the longest for a Chaminade player this season.
Lynea Klemmedon pitched the final three innings for the Wildcats to pick up the win in relief, surrendering only one hit after the 'Sword chased starter Samantha Mulock for five runs. Chico State (24-5) had 13 hits with four multi-hit batters.
The Silverswords wrap up the TOC Sunday against No. 2 Humboldt State and host Stanislaus State.
