WAIPAHU, O'ahu, Hawai'i – After nearly three weeks after the official start of Division II softball, the Chaminade University softball team finally took to the field for their opening day.
They certainly played like a team hungry to get in on the fun.
Tuesday against the University of British Columbia at Patsy T. Mink Central O'ahu Regional Park Softball Complex under dark conditions and a light drizzle, the Silverswords got nine hits in both games and got an impressive performance by a freshman pitcher making her regular season collegiate debut. Chaminade swept British Columbia, 7-6, in the first game on
Malia Ka`akimaka-Moisa's (Ewa Beach, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Campbell) go-ahead run on a wild pitch, followed by a 5-0 victory in the nightcap.
Taylor Genera (Norwalk, Calif./Whitney) got the wins in both games while
Cheyne Obara (Pearl City, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Pearl City) went a combined 4-for-6 at the plate with two RBI.
The 'Swords are off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2014. UBC fell to 1-5 on the season.
Game 1 (CUH 7, UBC 6)
The T-Birds opened the game with two runs in the top of the second but the 'Swords responded with two of their own in the bottom half of the inning on Obara's bases-loaded walk followed by
Jaeda Cabunoc's (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Roosevelt) RBI force-out.
Chaminade took the lead in the third on Genera's RBI knock followed three batters later by a run-scoring single from
Karyna Baldomino (Diamond Bar, Calif/Rowland) which was also her first career RBI.
After the T-Birds' three-run fifth which chased starter
Madelyn Stockslager (Torrance, Calif./South) from the circle, Genera slid over from the designated player spot in relief and managed to get out of a runners-on-the-corners jam but getting an inning-ending double-play.
The 'Swords were not behind for long. After a
Hailey Matsumura (Honolulu/Saint Francis HS) lead-off single in the fifth, Baldomino took a 2-0 count for a big fly over the left-center field fence. Her first career homer gave the lead back to Chaminade, 6-5.
UBC answered again in the top of the sixth, scoring the tying run but CUH was again up for the challenge again in the bottom half of the inning. Ka`akimaka-Moisa led off with a rope to center and eventually came across to score the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.
Genera then sat the T-Birds down in order in the seventh to earn her first career win in relief, tossing final 2 2/3 innings, allowing just one hit and one run with two strikeouts.
Obara had two hits and an RBI while Baldomino recorded her first career multi-hit game with two runs and two driven in.
Chaminade also showed an uncharacteristic aggressiveness on the base paths, swiping a school-record six stolen bases. Ka`akimaka-Moisa had two steals, the first of two her career.
UBC's Damara Begin (0-3) took the loss in relief.
Game 2 (CUH 5, UBC 0)
Genera got her first career start but whether a case of nerves or the light drizzle that fell most of the evening, allowed six base runners in the first three innings including three walks.
She did help her own cause at the dish, ripping an RBI single to center in the third to plate the game's first run.
Genera also got more support in the sixth when the 'Swords plated four insurance runs. Obara drew her second bases-loaded walk in the doubleheader for the inning's first run which brought home
Ronni Gallegos (Long Beach, Calif./Mt. San Antonio College/St. Joseph HS), followed by Matsumura's sacrifice fly scoring
Kayla Russell (Honolulu/Kaiser). Cabunoc then supplied the big blow, lacing a two-run double towards the right-center field gap.
Meanwhile Genera found a groove and, in near dominant fashion, retired 15 of the final 16 batters she faced. The only blemish was a lead-off double in the seventh but she got three quick outs to end the game. Nine of the final 15 outs were on the ground.
The final line for Genera, who improved to 2-0, was four hits, three walks and three strikeouts. According to available records, she is the first freshman pitcher in school history to earn a complete-game shutout in a debut.
She also had two hits as did Obara.
Megan Hendrickson suffered the loss to fall to 0-2 on the year.
The Silverswords' next opponent will be their Pacific West Conference opener against long-time in-city rival Hawai'i Pacific University (5-4) on Saturday at Howard Okita Field in Kaneohe. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.
