HONOLULU – The Chaminade University baseball team on Monday split their second doubleheader against Menlo College and, in the process, won their first Pacific West Conference four-game series of the season.
The Silverswords took the third game of the matchup, 7-5, to take the series but couldn't pull out the complete sweep in their 5-3 loss in the finale at the University of Hawai'i's Les Murakami Stadium.
Chris Mata (Wailuku, Maui, Hawai'i/South Mountain CC/Maui HS) was 4-for-8 on the day and hit .500 (8-for-16) in the series.
Cameron Breeze (Temecula, Calif./San Diego City College/Paloma Valley HS) added another three hits for the 'Swords, who earned their second 3-to-1 series win since the program was restarted in 2023. The only other four-game conference series win came last season, also against Menlo.
Chaminade pitching held the Oaks without a homer, a day after they went yard four times.
The Silverswords are 7-19 and 5-15 in the PacWest while the Oaks are 7-16 and 5-15. Although the two teams have a brief two-year and eight-game history against each other, Monday was the final meeting between the two programs as PacWest members. Menlo is leaving for the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) this summer.
Game 1: CUH 7, MC 5
RBI singles from
Alex Greb (Seattle/Wenatchee Valley College/Ballard HS) and Mata pushed the 'Swords ahead, 2-1, in the second inning. After the Oaks knotted it at 2, Chaminade scored four times in the third, the big hit a two-run double by
Bode Poler (Montesano, Wash./Gonzaga University/Montesano HS), helping to put the home team up 6-2.
Menlo got within a run but
Trysten Mooney (Helena, Mont./Wenatchee Valley College/Capital HS) got an insurance run in the sixth, putting CUH up 7-5.
Jacob Petersen (Sammamish, Wash./Everett CC/Skyline HS) came in relief in the fifth and kept the Oaks off the scoreboard and retired the last seven batters he faced to earn the win and improve to 2-2.
Nolan Rodriguez took the loss for the Oaks.
Game 2: MC 5, CUH 3
Looking for the series sweep, the 'Swords were in good shape with a sacrifice fly by
Cade Fujii (Kapolei, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Porterville College/Kapolei HS) in the first inning of the scheduled seven-inning contest.
It remained a 1-0 game until Menlo plated four runs in the fifth and another in the sixth. In the bottom of the sixth,
Caleb Wagner (Menifee, Calif./Mesa) drove in two, cutting the deficit to 5-3 but that would be all for the Silverswords.
Wagner went 3-for-3 in the finale with Mata and Breeze getting two more.
Holden Hungerford (Downey, Calif./Cerritos College/Warren HS) took the loss.
Jace Villanueva got the win for Menlo while Jacob Baca earned the save.
The Silverswords return to Les Murakami Stadium to face nationally ranked Westmont in doubleheaders on Thursday and Friday. First pitch on both days is at 2 p.m.
