HILO, Hawai'i – The Chaminade University baseball team on Friday opened its second weekend of competition of the program's resurrection, splitting their two opening games of the Big Island Baseball Bash at Francis Wong Stadium against their fellow Pacific West Conference Hawai'i schools by going into extra innings
The Silverswords (2-4) outlasted Hawai'i Pacific University, 8-7 in 12, then went 12 innings in falling to host Hawai'i Hilo, 4-3 in 11.
All games played between the schools from the 808 in the Big Island Baseball Bash are non-conference meetings and will not count in the PacWest Hawai'i standings at the end of the academic term.
Game 1: CUH 8, HPU 7 (12 inn.)
For as long as there's been an intercity rivalry between Chaminade and HPU in multiple sports over the years, Friday marked the first-ever meeting between the two baseball programs (HPU began playing as a club team in 1982, a year after Chaminade dropped the sport).
For the first two innings, the Sharks very much looked like a team that had being playing the sport for 42 years, taking a 5-0 lead. The 'Swords, however, got themselves right back into it on a three-run homer by
Caleb Kim (Aiea, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Christian Academy) in the third.
HPU upped its lead to 6-3 in the sixth but in the top of the eighth,
Ace Perry (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/University) scored on a wild pitch, then two batters later,
Cato Kleinman (Westlake Village, Calif./Monterey Peninsula College/Westlake HS) doubled Perry in to make it a one-run game, one of his three hits in the game.
Brayden Braga (San Ramon, Calif./Dougherty Valley), who had a pinch-hit homer in the season-opener against Cal State East Bay last Friday, came through in the pinch again, getting a two-run single to give the 'Swords a 7-6 lead.
But the Sharks tied it at 7 in the bottom of the eighth on a Hayden Huff solo blast.
Then in the top of the 12th,
Jackson Dorn (Happy Valley, Ore./Mt. Hood CC/Clackamas HS) had the go-ahead RBI single, putting Chaminade up 8-7.
Rhyn Chambers (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) plunked the lead-off batter in the bottom half of the inning but got a double play followed by the game-ending ground out. Chambers tossed the final 4 1/3 innings without allowing a hit to earn his first career win and hand HPU its first loss of the season at 5-1. Vincente Molina took the loss.
Game 2: UHH 4, CUH 3 (11 inn.)
The last time the Silverswords and Vulcans met on the baseball diamond was May 16, 1980 when UH Hilo eliminated Chaminade from the NAIA district playoffs in what turned out to be the final intercollegiate game for the 'Swords.
Perhaps it was only fitting that the first meeting in nearly 44 years came down to the final at-bat on a walk-off single by Arthur Soto.
The Vulcans scored the game's first two runs but the 'Swords put up a three-spot in the fourth. Dorn hit a one-out RBI single to get Chaminade on the board then Klineman came home on a wild pitch to tie it at 2.
Jackson Peper (Las Flores, Calif./Tesoro) then put the Silverswords ahead with an RBI single.
Chaminade managed to strand Vulcan runners at third in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings but couldn't do it in the eighth as the tying run came in on a sacrifice fly.
Then in the 11th, UH Hilo loaded the bases with no out, where Soto, who homered earlier in the game, hit a bouncer up the middle against the drawn-in 'Swords' infield for the walk off.
Mac Zawistoski (Coto de Caza, Calif./JSerra Catholic) suffered the loss for the 'Swords while Christian Wood earned the win for UH Hilo (4-3). Peper,
Casey Kudell (Irvine, Calif./Irvine Valley College/Irvine HS) and
JT Navyac (Kailua, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Cal State Fullerton/Saint Louis HS) each had two of Chaminade's eight hits in the nightcap.
The Silverswords conclude the Bash on Saturday with a short turnaround against Saint Martin's of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with an early start time of 10 a.m., followed by a rematch against HPU at 1 p.m.
