IRVINE, Calif. – The Chaminade University baseball team wrapped up their first four-game Pacific West Conference series Saturday with a split of Concordia University Irvine at Golden Eagles Field.
The Silverswords took the Golden Eagles to extra innings but were walked off in the 12th by a 5-4 count. The 'Swords managed to salvage a win getting the tiebreaking run in the fifth inning in a 3-2 win of the seven-inning contest.
Chaminade's top of the order had very productive outings in both games of the doubleheader with the 1-through-3 in the order going a combined 10-for-27, six runs and six RBI.
Cade Fujii (Kapolei, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Porterville College/Kapolei HS) had four hits on the day as did
Chris Mata (Wailuku, Maui, Hawai'i/South Mountain CC/Maui HS), making his debut as a position player and hitting at the top of the lineup card.
The 'Swords' pitching also fared well, allowing just 15 runs in the series.
Chaminade is 3-6 and 1-3 in the PacWest while Concordia is 5-7 and 3-1.
Game 1: CUI 5, CUH 4 (12 inn.)
Trailing by a run after a first-inning Golden Eagles' homer,
Jaren Banis (Wahiawa, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kamehameha-Kapalama) drove in Mata in the third then an error later in the inning put them up 2-1.
Down 4-2 in the seventh, Mata drove in his first career run on a double then scored the tying run on Fujii's sacrifice fly.
Meanwhile on the bump,
Jacob Petersen (Sammamish, Wash./Everett CC/Skyline HS) was brilliant, tossing the final 7 2/3 frames in relief and retired the Golden Eagles in order in four of them. However, he got some bad luck when Isaiah Walz's grounder to third took a bad hop and trickled into left field, allowing the game-winner to cross the plate from second base.
Mata and Fujii each had two hits while Peterson took the loss to fall to 1-1.
Caden Miller got the win in relief for the Golden Eagles.
Game 2: CUH 3, CUH 2 (7 inn.)
It didn't take long for the Silverswords to get on the board with RBIs from Fujii and
Aydan Lobetos (Ewa Beach, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kamehameha-Kapalama) in the top of the first.
CUI got both runs back in the third but in the fifth, Lobetos delivered again with the go-ahead RBI double.
Kyle Seo (Sacramento, Calif./Sacramento City College/Inderkum HS), summoned out of the bullpen in the fourth, allowed just one hit in his next two frames.
In the bottom of the seventh and final scheduled inning, Concordia managed to get pinch-runner Mason Overacker to third base as the potential tying run with one out. But catcher
Trysten Mooney (Helena, Mont./Wenatchee Valley College/Capital HS) picked off Overacker trying to scamper home on a suicide squeeze, emptying the bases with two outs. Seo struck out Owen Gott to end the game.
Seo picked up his first career win, allowing no runs to keep his perfect ERA intact. Mata, Fujii and Lobetos each had two hits while Lobetos had two RBI.
The Silverswords will head down the coast to San Diego and face nationally ranked Point Loma starting Wednesday.
