HONOLULU – The last time the Chaminade University softball team was in position to qualify for a postseason berth was back in 2000. The opponent which stood in its way back then was in-city rival Hawai'i Pacific University.
That year, the then-Sea Warriors took all four games of the season-ending series in April which denied the Silverswords the Pacific West Conference Pacific Division title and a berth in the conference tournament which instead went to HPU.
Fast-forward 23 years later where the now-Sharks and 'Swords were both in position to grab the PacWest's fourth and final tournament spot heading into the final weekend. And like it was that fateful April in 2000, it was HPU who ended Chaminade's run to clinch the tournament berth.
HPU got a first-inning run in the matinee at Silversword Field at Sand Island Park which was all it needed in their 1-0 win. The Sharks then took the nightcap, 4-2, to sweep the season series and claim their 10th straight win in the series dating back to May 2021.
Chaminade saw its memorable season end at 22-24, its most wins since the 25-win campaign in 2013, and finish 14-17 in the conference.
HPU is 22-30 and 17-15 heading into next week's tournament where they will either be the No. 3 seed (with two Azusa Pacific losses at Concordia Irvine on Saturday) or the No. 4 seed (if APU takes a game against the Golden Eagles).
Friday was also the final career games for seniors
Taylor Genera (Norwalk, Calif./Whitney),
Kieren Lopez (Bakersfield, Calif./Frontier) and
Cheyne Obara (Pearl City, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Pearl City).
Game 1: HPU 1, CUH 0
It took just two at-bats for the Sharks to strike, with base hits in their first two at-bats, putting runners at the corners. Noel Saunders then lofted a run-scoring sacrifice fly for the game's first – and what proved to be the only – run.
But starter
Jaeda Cabunoc (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Roosevelt) settled down and retired the next 18 batters before Saunders opened the seventh with a single.
Meanwhile HPU starter Taylor Thompson did not allow a hit until
Keaolani Takemura (Pearl City, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mid-Pacific Institute) – the PacWest's third-best batter by average entering Friday – dropped a single to right-center but was left stranded. The 'Swords had the makings of finally getting to Thompson in the home half of the sixth with consecutive hits from
Larchelle Tuifao (Ewa Beach, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kapolei) and
Kobe Brown (Mililani, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mililani) but an interference call on the base paths between second and third ended the inning.
Down to their final inning,
Isabel Rodriguez (Littleton, Colo./Columbine) drew a walk then 'Swords got a massive break when HPU first baseman Tiare Hernandez muffed a potential game-ending double play off a line-drive comebacker to Thompson, allowing Rodriguez to scurry back to first. However, CUH couldn't take advantage of the gift with the game ending on a called strike three, ending their postseason chances.
Cabunoc took the hard-luck defeat, falling to 3-3, despite allowing just four hits and no walks, throwing a miniscule 68 pitches.
Thompson, meanwhile, improved to 8-14, on her three-hitter and also raised her record to 4-0 all-time against Chaminade.
Game 2: HPU 4, CUH 2
With now pride on the line to not only send their three seniors out on a positive note, but to also end their losing streak against the Sharks, freshman starter
Ashley Ogata (Mililani, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mililani) sat down the first eight Sharks with three shutout innings.
Genera was summoned in the fourth, allowing the game's first run before an injury prevented her from throwing another inning.
The 'Swords got something cooking in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases but couldn't capitalize on a potential wild pitch which prevented them from getting their first score.
HPU plated two more runs later to increase their lead to 4-0 before
Kailah Gates-Coyaso (Waianae, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Waianae) got a bases-loaded force-out, beating out a potential inning-ending double play to bring Takemura in for Chaminade's first run.
The 'Swords made it interesting in the seventh as Takemura drove in Ogata for her PacWest-leading 41st RBI of the season, making it 4-2 and put the tying run at the plate. But like the first game, a called third strike ended Game 2 and the Silverswords' season.
Genera took the loss to fall to 6-6 in her final game in a 'Swords' uniform while Takemura accounted for three of Chaminade's six hits. Obara enjoyed a fifth-inning single while Lopez walked three times in their final games.
Gianna Kerschbaum got the win for HPU to improve to 5-9 while Hailey Yoshida tossed 1 2/3 innings for her first save of the year.
Genera wrapped up her outstanding Chaminade career with 20 wins, which is eighth all-time, a career ERA of 3.21, the fourth-lowest in school history while her .286 opponent batting average ranks fourth.
Obara, the 2021 PacWest Defensive Player of the Year, wrapped her five-year playing career as one of the top defenders in school history with a .967 fielding percentage which is seventh, second in assists with 368 and 40 double plays turned which is third.
Lopez, a key outfield reserve throughout her career, wrapped up her final season by getting her first two career hits this past season, one of which resulted in her first RBI. She also had 21 career putouts, one assist with just one error.
