KAILUA-KONA, Hawai'i – The Chaminade University softball team was still smarting after dropping three of four last weekend to the University of Hawai'i Hilo at Howard Okita Field in Kaneohe. Particularly bothersome to them was having their offense held without a run in the final 17 innings of the series.
That changed Saturday at Kealakehe High School Field in the opening of the final four-game series between the top two teams in the Pacific West Conference Hawai'i Pod.
The Silverswords scored nine runs in the top of the first inning, sending 13 batters to the plate in an eventual five-inning, mercy-rule 9-1 win in the first game.
The 'Swords then completed the Saturday sweep with a 3-1, pitchers' duel victory, breaking a 1-1 deadlock by scoring on a pair of Vulcans' errors.
Cheyne Obara (Pearl City, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Pearl City) and
Keaolani Takemura (Pearl City, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mid-Pacific Institute) each had four hits in the twin bill. Three of Takemura's hits were for extra bases while driving in four on the day.
Meanwhile Chaminade's pitching staff of
Taylor Genera (Norwalk, Calif./Whitney) and
Madelyn Stockslager (Torrance, Calif./South) held the Vulcans to just seven hits total to help the Silverswords sweep UH Hilo on the road for the first time since 2013.
Chaminade improved to 9-7 in the PacWest, drawing to within 2 ½ games behind UH Hilo (10-3) for first place in the pod.
Game 1
As a harbinger of events to come, Obara led off with a double to left center then came home two batters later on Takemura's base knock. Genera made it four straight hits with her RBI single which brought
Jaeda Cabunoc (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Roosevelt) home.
Haley Hayakawa (Torrance, Calif./South) and
Hailey Matsumura (Honolulu/Saint Francis) followed with RBI singles each, making it 4-0, prompting a UH Hilo pitching change. Starter Valerie Alvarado, who handcuffed the 'Swords last Sunday, was pulled after recording just one out with four runs in.
Reliever Leah Gonzales fared no better. She walked
Ronni Gallegos (Long Beach, Calif./Mt. San Antonio College/Saint Joseph), the first batter she faced, with the bases loaded to force in the fifth CUH run. Obara, who made her second plate appearance of the frame, then singled to center to bring home two more runs. Takemura then applied more damage by tripling home Obara and Gallegos, making it 9-0. Her triple was the first by a Chaminade batter since Feb. 27, 2019, a span of 105 games without a three-bagger.
Chaminade took away any momentum in the bottom of the inning when UH Hilo speedster Kiarra Lincoln was thrown out at home trying to score.
The 'Swords turned more stellar defense by turning a double play in the second to quell a Vulcans' threat. And despite four uncharacteristic Chaminade errors, Genera beared down and didn't allow a run to score until the fifth which was unearned, not enough to stave off the run-rule.
Genera improved to 4-1 in scattering four hits with two strikeouts and no walks while lowering her ERA to 2.83. Her bat was also part of the 'Swords top of the order finishing 6-for-12 in the game with Takemura's three RBI and Obara's two.
Alvarado suffered her first loss of the year to fall to 4-1.
Game 2
After a scoreless two frames, Takemura put Chaminade up 1-0 on her RBI double with UH Hilo countering in the fourth on an infield RBI single from Markie Okamoto.
In the fifth, pinch-hitter
Yolanda Racaza (San Pedro, Calif./Port of Los Angeles) got her first career base hit by lacing a single to center. But an error on the play brought Obara home as the go-ahead run.
The 'Swords got a huge insurance run in the seventh when Takemura scampered home on UH Hilo's second error of the game. The Vulcans came into the doubleheader with just four errors, tops in the PacWest.
After allowing the run in the fourth, Stockslager was untouchable, allowing no hits in the final three innings with the only base runners getting on board via errors. The Vulcans managed to get the tying run to the plate in the seventh but Stockslager got Nikki Zielinski to pop out to the game.
Takemura went 2-for-4 with an RBI while Obara and Cabunoc had two hits. Stockslager allowed just three hits to even her record to 5-5.
Gonzales took her first loss of the season to fall to 3-1.
The Silverswords and Vulcans will meet for the final time in 2021 on Sunday with another important doubleheader at Kealakehe High School. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.
