LINCOLN, Calif. – The Chaminade University baseball team began its final series of their road trip Monday with an 8-4 loss to Jessup University at McBean Park.
Jaren Banis (Wahiawa, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kamehameha-Kapalama) and
Casey Kudell (Irvine, Calif./Irvine Valley College/Irvine HS) each had two hits for the Silverswords while
Safea Villaruz-Mauai (Hilo, Hawai'i/BYU/Waiakea HS) drove in three including his team-leading seventh homer of the season.
Chaminade is 13-17 and 11-14 in the PacWest while the Warriors are 18-8 and 15-6 as first-year members of the conference.
The 'Swords started off loudly when Villaruz-Mauai crushed a pitch to dead center, which not only traveled over the wall 400 feet away, but also over the 20-foot-high batter's eye, giving Chaminade a 2-0 lead.
The senior first baseman made it 3-0 in the third, driving in Banis on a groundout.
But the lead was short-lived when Kailua native and Saint Louis School graduate Cody Antone tied it on a three-run homer. A wild pitch in the fourth gave Jessup the lead, then proceeded to load the bases. The inning for CUH unraveled when an errant throw to first went into right field, allowing all three runners to score, extending Jessup's lead to 7-3.
Cade Fujii's (Kapolei, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Porterville College/Kapolei HS) two-out RBI single in the fifth reduced the deficit to 7-4 but the Warriors tacked on a run an inning later for the final margin.
Starter
Anthony O'Canas (Woodland, Calif./American River College/Woodland HS) took the loss while
Chris Cody (Orange, Calif./Irvine Valley College/El Modena HS) allowed two runs, one earned, with four strikeouts in his 4 2/3 innings of relief.
Middle reliever Evan Williams got the win for Jessup.
The Silverswords and Warriors will meet again on Tuesday with a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. Hawai'i time.
