HONOLULU – Heading into Saturday's critical doubleheader against Hawai'i Pacific University, the Chaminade University softball team certainly had the cards stacked against them.
For one, they were facing HPU, the hottest team in the Pacific West Conference Hawai'i Pod, who had won six of their last eight games.
Secondly, the 'Swords were 0-9 all-time at Sand Island Park Field, a move that was prompted after their temporary home at the Sharks' Howard Okita Field was flooded by rain on Friday.
But the 'Swords did not let history get in their way on Senior Day.
Chaminade rallied from three runs down in the middle of Game 1 and again in extra innings with a 6-5 come-from-behind win on a walk-off base hit from
Taylor Genera (Norwalk, Calif./Whitney) in the eighth. It was the fourth time this season the two teams walked each other off in extras, three times by the 'Swords.
Genera then tossed a four-hitter in the 'Swords' 2-0 victory to complete the sweep, cooling off the red-hot Sharks and ending their Sand Island misery.
One of the two seniors,
Madelyn Stockslager (Torrance, Calif./South) was the winning pitcher in the first game and was also 3-for-5 at the plate, her first plate appearances since her freshman season in 2018.
The Silverswords (12-10 PacWest) are just a game-and-a-half behind Hawai'i Hilo in the Hawai'i Pod standings. HPU fell to 6-13 in the conference, which eliminated them from pod title contention.
Game 1
The Sharks jumped out with a run in the first and two more in the third on a two-run blast by Mary Dungey to take a 3-0 lead. However the 'Swords got the runs, plus one, back in the bottom of the frame.
Stockslager, making her first plate appearance since April 28, 2018, got on with a one-out walk. Four batters later with the bases loaded,
Malia Ka`akimaka-Moisa (Ewa Beach, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Campbell) also drew a free pass, allowing pinch-runner
Jehna Ramiscal (Visalia, Calif./El Diamante) to score the first Chaminade run.
Cheyne Obara (Pearl City, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Pearl City), who walked earlier in the inning, then scampered home on a passed ball.
That was followed by
Kobe Brown (Mililani, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mililani) who delivered a two-run single to right to put the 'Swords ahead, 4-3.
HPU tied it with a run in the fifth which helped to force extra innings followed by a sacrifice fly in the eighth to put the Sharks up, 5-4.
But in the bottom of the eighth, 11 days after the 'Swords cost themselves a win with a bevy of errors in the 10th inning on April 20, it was HPU's turn with a critical error.
A dropped pop-up in foul territory to leadoff batter
Jaeda Cabunoc (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Roosevelt) gave the sophomore new life. She laced the next pitch from Malia Torres into right for a single followed by
Hailey Matsumura's (Honolulu/Saint Francis) single.
Kailah Gates-Coyaso (Waianae, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Waianae) then put down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position. Stockslager, who singled earlier in the fourth for her first hit since March 27, 2018, then brought the tying run home, her 16th career RBI.
Obara was intentionally walked to load the bases. Then two batters later, Genera dropped a liner into center, scoring Matsumura as the winning run. It was Genera's second walk-off winner this season – both against HPU – and third of her career.
Haley Hayakawa (Torrance, Calif./South) and Cabunoc both had two hits as did Stockslager, her second career multi-hit game, as Chaminade rapped out 10 hits.
However, Stockslager is best known for her presence in the circle. The school's all-time strikeout leader had nine more, increasing her career record to 281. She also got her 25th career win, tying her with
Kasy'e Lalau for fourth in school history, and threw 173 pitches, the second-most of her career.
Torres suffered the loss to fall to 5-6.
Game 2
With Genera toeing the rubber in the nightcap, she and her HPU counterpart, Megan Wilson, put up zeros on the scoreboard through five innings.
Chaminade finally struck pay dirt in the bottom of the fifth, led by their two seniors.
Ronni Gallegos (Long Beach, Calif./Mt. San Antonio College/Saint Joseph) led off with a walk followed by Stockslager who ripped her fourth career double to the fence in right center. Gallegos then scored the game's first run on a wild pitch followed by Obara's RBI single to center.
It would be all Genera needed. She retired the side in order in the sixth but ran into a bit of trouble in the seventh when the Sharks got the tying run on board. But a force out at third and a pop-up would end it.
Genera's four-hit gem was her second career shutout. She struck out one and allowed just one walk. Cabunoc had two hits for the 'Swords in the second game. Genera also had a hit which extended her hitting streak to six, tying her with
Keaolani Takemura (Pearl City, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mid-Pacific Institute) for the longest on the team this season. Matsumura extended her reached-base streak to eight after her walk in the second.
Wilson took the loss for HPU to fall to 1-7.
Although Senior Day was celebrated on Saturday, the Silverswords and Sharks will duel one last time on Sunday which is a make-up of Friday's rainout. The doubleheader will again be at Sand Island Field with first pitch scheduled for noon and will be the regular season finale for the Silverswords in 2021.
