HONOLULU – Sunday was not quite Funday for the Chaminade University softball team.
Under gray skies with the threat of rain, the Silverswords wrapped up their four-game series against Menlo College on Sunday, suffering a 6-2 defeat in the first game followed by a hard-luck 9-8, eight-inning loss in the series finale at Silversword Field at Sand Island Park.
The 'Swords, who dropped three of four in the series, fell to 8-31 overall and 7-23 in the Pacific West Conference while Menlo is 12-29 and 9-16. It was also the final meeting between the two programs as members of the PacWest with the Oaks departing for the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) this fall after just two years in the conference with Menlo leading the series, 7-to-1.
Sunday's games were makeups from Friday's rainout.
Game 1: MC 6, CUH 2
After spotting Menlo two runs in the second inning, the Oaks gifted a run to Chaminade on a dropped flyball that would have finished the third. Instead, the error allowed
Vanessa Pena (Paramount, Calif./Paramount) to cross the plate, putting the 'Swords on the board.
The Oaks added to their lead with two runs in the sixth and seventh frames. Freshman
C.J. Peneueta (Honolulu/Aiea), making just her second plate appearance of the season, drove in
Sunni Kahanu (Mililani, O'ahu, Hawai'i/University of Hawai'i/Mililani HS) in the bottom of the sixth on a ground-out for her first career RBI.
The 'Swords were held to four hits in the matinee with
Bailey Benson (Cheney, Wash./Gonzaga Preparatory) taking the loss.
The Oaks had 12 hits while Lela Yslava got the win in relief after the Menlo starting pitcher was ejected with one out in the bottom of the third for a second violation of not wiping rosin bag particles off her throwing hand after grabbing the bag.
Game 2: MC 9, CUH 8 (8 inn.)
The finale proved to be the biggest rollercoaster of the series.
The Oaks scored the game's first four runs before a double from
Miranda Diaz (Whittier, Calif./Cerritos College/California HS) plated
Summer Buck (Honolulu/Kaiser) for the team's first run in the second. The next batter,
Mimi Smith (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union), grounded out but managed to drive in
Carisma Ta'amai (Oroville, Calif./Pleasant Valley).
Freshman
Haylie Reiny (Ewa Beach, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kamehameha-Kapalama), seeing her first game action this season as the starter in right field, dropped the first collegiate pitch she saw into shallow center to score Diaz, chopping the deficit to 4-3.
The 'Swords took advantage of a pair of Menlo errors which gave them a 6-4 lead in the fourth.
Gabriella Schneider (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Alta Loma) and Diaz were scoring recipients of the errors while Buck also scored via a wild pitch.
In the top of the fourth, the Oaks scored twice to tie it at 6 but Buck's fifth-inning RBI double hit the base of the 225-foot fence in left field put Chaminade up, 7-6. Menlo ended up tying it at 7 in the sixth as a light rain, which had threatened Sunday's game, began falling.
The Silverswords nearly went ahead in the bottom of the sixth but, with a runner at second, Menlo shortstop Emma Medina made a diving stop of Schneider's roller headed to left field to prevent the potential go-ahead run from scoring.
The defensive gem was pivotal as the game went into extra innings where in the eighth, the 'Swords committed a trio of errors, the last which allowed the go-ahead runs to score on a throw which should have ended the inning.
But the Silverswords did not go quietly in their half of the eighth, getting within a run after Buck drew a bases-loaded walk, and putting the tying and winning runs at third and second. However, they were not able to complete the comeback.
Buck had three of Chaminade's nine base hits, her first multi-hit game in her last 12 outings, and drove in two runs. Schneider and Diaz also had a pair of hits with the former extending her hit streak to five.
Ava Walker (Las Vegas/Faith Lutheran), who started the game, was relieved in the second and returned in the seventh, suffered the loss.
Rosaline Torralva got the win out of the bullpen while Yslava pitched the eighth to earn the save. The Oaks had 10 hits in the game.
At 2 hours and 59 minutes of total game time, the series finale was the longest game in total duration in field history and the fourth-longest in program history. The 'Swords also suffered their fifth straight extra-inning home defeat, dating back to 2024.
Chaminade faces in-city rival Hawai'i Pacific University on Saturday at Silversword Field. The teams split their first doubleheader on Feb. 28 at HPU's field at Sand Island. First pitch is at noon.
