TURLOCK, Calif. – For just the second time in their current mainland road trip, the Chaminade University softball team played on back-to-back days and coming off one of their best offensive days in recent memory.
Unfortunately, they could not replicate the same type of success they had 24 hours earlier against Academy of Art.
The Silverswords where held to just 10 combined hits in Friday's opening games of the Tournament of Champions presented by the City of Turlock. Both games were played at Pedretti Park Field 5.
Chaminade was blanked, 6-0, in its opener against Cal State East Bay then dropped a 5-2 decision to San Francisco State in the nightcap.
The Silverswords fell to 18-16 overall.
Game 1: CSUEB 6, CUH 0
It appeared that the 'Swords would have another successful day at the plate against the Pioneers with hits in their lead-off hitters
Taryn Fujioka (Aiea, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Pearl City) and
Jaeda Cabunoc (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Roosevelt).
The bats would then fall silent from there. Chaminade had just two hits the rest of the game and at one point, had 12 straight batters retired.
Cal State East Bay was able to push across a run in the third then broke it open with a five-run fifth.
Bailey Benson (Cheney, Wash./Gonzaga Preparatory) took the loss to fall to 5-8.
Anamaria Beard got the win for CSUEB, improving to 10-9.
Game 2: SFSU 5, CUH 2
The 'Swords got their first run of the day when
Haley Hayakawa (Torrance, Calif./South) clubbed an RBI double to left-center in the second inning. They tacked on another in the third, thanks to
Keaolani Takemura (Pearl City, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mid-Pacific Institute), who delivered a triple which brought in Fujioka to make it 2-0. The three-bagger was her eighth of the season while her RBI total increased to 31, both of which lead the Pacific West Conference.
But the lead proved to be short-lived. The Gators responded by sending eight batters to the plate in a four-run fourth with another run in the sixth.
The Silverswords had six total hits against San Francisco State with
Bailey Jacobsen (Buena Park, Calif./Cypress) getting half of them.
Taylor Genera (Norwalk, Calif./Whitney) went 3 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on five hits in taking the defeat to fall to 6-3.
SFSU's Brooklyn Heffernan picked up the win to improve to 5-7.
The Silverswords continue the Tournament of Champions on Saturday when they face Montana State Billings at Pedretti Park at 11 a.m. Hawai'i time (2 p.m. local) then moves to the Stanislaus State campus for a 7 p.m. local time start against host Stanislaus State.
