HONOLULU – The Chaminade University softball team opened a four-game series Friday against Dominican University of California by sweeping the first of two doubleheaders at Silversword Field at Sand Island Park.
The Silverswords won the opener, 9-2, behind a complete game effort in the circle by
Ashley Ogata (Mililani, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mililani) and timely hitting.
The 'Swords then completed the first-day sweep with a 9-4 win, thanks to the long ball by
Larchelle Tuifao (Ewa Beach, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kapolei) and
Taryn Fujioka (Aiea, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Pearl City), who each drove in four runs on the afternoon.
Keaolani Takemura-Brehme (Pearl City, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mid-Pacific Institute) totaled six hits.
The Silverswords improved to 7-5 overall and are 4-0 in the Pacific West Conference for the first time since 2012 and for just the third time since 2004.
The Penguins, who entered Friday on a six-game winning streak and a 7-1 record on their Hawai'i trip, fell to 12-10 overall and 7-7 in the PacWest.
Game 1: CUH 9, DUC 2
After spotting the Penguins a first-inning run, the 'Swords got it back in the home half of the frame on a Tuifao sacrifice fly.
In the second,
Desiree Bravo (Corona, Calif./Mt. San Antonio College/Centennial HS) ripped a screamer off the third baseman's glove and into foul territory, allowing
Bailey Jacobsen (Buena Park, Calif./Cypress) to cross with Bravo getting to second.
Summer Buck (Honolulu/Kaiser) followed with an RBI single then Fujioka ripped a sharp one-hopper off the glove of the drawn-in first baseman to plate another run. Takemura-Brehme put the finishing touches in the inning with an RBI double, giving Chaminade a 5-1 lead.
The 'Swords scored on an error in the third, then plated three in the fourth via Tuifao's RBI double and two-run knock from
Jaeda Kumaewa-Cabunoc (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Roosevelt) which put them up, 9-1.
Dominican got a run in the fifth to avoid the mercy rule but Ogata retired nine of the last 11 batters to close it out and earn her second win of the season. Seven of Chaminade's runs came with runners in scoring position.
Kassidy Stetler took the loss to fall to 2-2.
Game 2: CUH 9, DUC 4
Like they did in the opener, the Penguins got a run in the top of the first. And in a similar scenario, the 'Swords responded when Tuifao crushed a 1-0 offering over the fence in dead center, a two-run shot, and her third round-tripper of the year.
Dominican countered with a run in the second to tie it at 2 before Fujioka's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second put the 'Swords ahead, 2-1. Takemura-Brehme followed with a two-RBI double then came home on an error when the left fielder's throw to the plate bounced away from the catcher. When the dust settled in the frame, Chaminade led, 6-2.
Leading off the fourth, Fujioka turned on the second pitch she saw and parked the ball over the fence in right for her fourth career jack. She joins Tuifao as the only CUH players to leave the yard at Silversword Field and is just the third player in the brief year-and-a-half history of the park to hit a traditional home run (Dominican's Taylor Rodriguez hit a grand slam against Hawai'i Pacific University on March 5).
That was followed by
Kobe Brown's (Mililani, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mililani) sac fly to increase Chaminade's lead to 8-2.
DUC scored twice in the fifth to close to 8-4 and threatened to add more but
Kamryn Lopez (Bakersfield, Calif./Garces Memorial) was summoned from the bullpen and got Kaitlyn Aguilar to hit a bouncer to
Kailah Gates-Coyaso (Waianae, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Waianae) at second to turn a 4-3 inning-ending double play.
Fujioka added her third RBI of the game with a fifth-inning single then Lopez shut down the Penguins' bats, ending the sixth on a strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out double play followed by a perfect seventh.
Chaminade's top three batters in the lineup were a combined 8-for-11 and seven RBI with Takemura-Brehme going 4-for-4, finishing a homer shy of the cycle. She scored three times and drove in a pair.
Tuifao's 2-for-4 performance in the nightcap extended her hitting streak to nine while the two runs she drove in is her sixth multi-RBI contest in Chaminade's last eight games.
Bailey Benson (Cheney, Wash./Gonzaga Preparatory) went 4 1/3 innings, allowing four runs while scattering eight hits to improve to 2-1 on the year.
Rodriguez took the loss to fall to 5-3.
The Silverswords wrap up their series against Dominican on Saturday with the second doubleheader. First pitch at Silversword Field is scheduled for 12 p.m.
