WAIPAHU, O'ahu, Hawai'i – Squaring off against their first nationally-ranked foe on the season on Monday, the Chaminade University softball team came close to pulling off a pair of upsets.
Instead the Silverswords will have to be satisfied with putting a scare in No. 20 Concordia University Irvine in 4-3 and 7-4 losses at Patsy T. Mink Central O'ahu Regional Park.
In the first game, the 'Swords had the tying and winning runs on base in the seventh, then the nightcap had the tying run in the on-deck circle.
Junior shortstop
Rainelle Matsuoka (Honolulu/Kaiser) blasted a solo home run in the opening game while freshman third baseman
Makena Kealoha (Corona, Calif./Norco) had a two-run double in the sixth inning of the second contest.
Chaminade fell to 3-10 overall and 0-6 in the Pacific West Conference. Concordia improved to 9-4 and 2-2.
Game 1
After CUI struck for a run in the first, Chaminade came back on a bases-loaded walk from
Kayla Russell (Honolulu/Kaiser) followed by an RBI single from
Ashlyn Yagin (Ewa Beach, Hawai'i/Campbell) to put them up 2-1.
After the Eagles tied it at 2 in the top of the third, Matsuoka put Chaminade ahead, 3-2, in the bottom half of the frame with her solo shot to left off ace Grayson Harvey, the first homer allowed by a Concordia pitcher this season. Matsuoka's second homer of the season was also the 17
th in her career, putting her just eight behind the school record of 25 held by Brandi Sasaki.
But CUI tied it in fourth then took the lead in the fifth on Sarah Kretschmar's solo homer.
In the seventh and facing closer Callie Nunes, the 'Swords' speed at the top of the order forced consecutive Concordia errors to put the tying run (Yagin) at third and the winning run in
Kayla Henmi (Torrance, Calif./South) at first. However, a bunted pop-up and strikeout ended the game, stranding both runners.
Despite allowing just two hits in three innings of relief,
Kayla Higuchi (Aiea, Hawai'i/Aiea) suffered the loss. Starter
Devan Dickson (Avondale, Ariz./Westview) allowed three runs while scattering six hits with four walks in four innings.
Harvey got the win to improve to 4-2 while Nunes got her conference-leading third save of the year. Ryann Ferguson went 3-for-4 with a run and RBI.
Game 2
With Nunes getting the starting nod, Concordia staked her to a 5-0 lead through five innings. The freshman baffled the Chaminade order with 11 strikeouts before being lifted in the sixth for Jordan Quinn.
In the sixth, the 'Swords finally made some noise. With the bases loaded, Kealoha snapped a 0-for-9 slump with a two-run double to the right-centerfield gap off Quinn to make it 5-2.
CUI plated two runs in the seventh but Chaminade again made things interesting in its half of the inning. Aided by consecutive errors, the 'Swords got runners at first and second. Then
Kiana Ulufale (Ewa Beach, Hawai'i/Campbell) hit a bouncer towards second baseman Mckinsey Thorpe who bobbled the ball. Thrope recovered but bounced the subsequent throw towards first into the fence. The double-error allowed
Jackie Najera (Santa Ana, Calif./Segerstrom) to scamper home.
Madelyn Stockslager (Torrance, Calif./South) then brought Matsuoka home on a RBI ground-out to make it 7-5. With Ulufale on base, the 'Swords got the tying run on deck but a strikeout – the 15
th of the game by CUI hurlers – ended the game.
Stockslager went six innings, scattering nine hits while allowing seven runs, four earned. She also had seven strikeouts on the night. In her last 27 innings, the freshman has fanned 29.
Nunes got the win to improve to 3-1 and lower her ERA to a microscopic 0.58. Kailey Palazzolo went 4-for-4 with a run and RBI.
The Silverswords will look to get into the conference win column with a twin bill against Azusa Pacific (4-11, 0-4 PacWest) Tuesday at CORP Field. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. with live streaming audio coverage on GoSwords.com.
