WAIPAHU, O'ahu, Hawai'i – Just 24 hours after surrendering a season high in both runs and hits, the Chaminade University baseball team on Friday returned the favor against Hawai'i Pacific University.
The Silverswords scored their second highest run total of the season on a season-high 14 hits to blank the Sharks, 12-0, at Patsy T. Mink Central O'ahu Regional Park (CORP) Baseball Complex, which was called after seven innings via the 10-run mercy rule. The win came an evening after Chaminade dropped its first-ever Pacific West Conference game, 14-5.
Four 'Swords had multiple hits led by
Ryan Ruch (San Diego/Patrick Henry) and
Casey Kudell (Irvine, Calif./Irvine Valley College/Irvine HS) who had three each. The former drove in four including his first homer of the year and was a double shy of the cycle while the latter tied his season best with three RBI.
Jake Harper (San Pedro, Calif./El Camino College/San Pedro HS) and
Evon Williams (San Ramon, Calif./Dougherty Valley) each had two hits with Harper scoring three times.
Max Patterson (Honolulu/Olympic College/Kalani HS) tossed a gem in a complete-game two-hitter, striking out seven with no walks to even his record to 1-1. Both hits he allowed were in the bottom of the first inning, then proceeded to retire 18 of the final 19 batters including 17 straight at one point.
Chaminade improved to 6-9 on the year while HPU fell to 9-2 with both its losses this season coming against the 'Swords. The game was a non-conference meeting so PacWest records remain 0-1 for CUH and 1-0 for HPU.
Ruch opened the scoring by launching a moonshot that just cleared the right-field fence for a solo homer. In the third, an HPU error allowed
Jake Harper (San Pedro, Calif./El Camino College/San Pedro HS) and
Aydan Lobetos (Ewa Beach, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kamehameha-Kapalama) to score and give the 'Swords a 3-0 lead.
Ruch's two-run triple in the fifth padded Chaminade's lead to 5-0, then the 'Swords put up a five-spot in the sixth on two-run knocks by Kudell and
Cato Kleinman (Westlake Village, Calif./Monterey Peninsula College/Westlake HS) followed by another Ruch RBI.
Chaminade capped its scoring in the seventh with RBI singles from Lobetos and Kudell while Patterson, who had 1-2-3 innings from second through sixth, hit a batter with one out in the bottom of the seventh, ending his streak of 17 consecutive retired. However, he ended the game with a pair of swinging strikeouts.
The Silverswords and Sharks wrap up their four-game series on Saturday at CORP. The first game at 2 p.m. will be a PacWest contest scheduled for seven innings with the nightcap designated as non-conference, which will start 30 minutes after the completion of the first.
