HILO, Hawai`i—A softball doubleheader is comprised of 14 innings, usually all of them somewhat meaningful towards the final outcome of the game.
On Saturday afternoon at the UH Hilo softball field, visiting California Baptist ultimately relied on one inning of each game to spell the difference during a 7-1, 4-3 sweep of the Vulcans.
The victories were the seventh and eighth straight for the Lancers, who improved to 16-7 on the season and to 10-2 in the Pacific West Conference. UH Hilo dropped to 8-12 on the year and to 2-8 in league play with the losses.
The Lancers scored all seven of their runs in the second inning of the first game, and used a three-run home run in the third inning of the second game to provide for their margin of victory.
In the opener, CBU roughed up Vulcan starter
Cyanne Fernandez in the second inning. Previously, Fernandez had given up just one earned run in her last 23 innings pitched. But with one out, the Lancers started a rally that would eventually send 11 batters to the plate that would lash out seven hits. Included in that hit parade was a two-run double by Alley Johnson, a three-run homer by Krista Mann and a two-run blast by London Miller.
Leah Gonzales came out of the bullpen and pitched well the rest of the way, going 5.1 innings and allowing only four hits and no runs. She also fanned five. But her teammates couldn't get the bats warmed up against Lancer starter Kellye Springstead, who went the first six innings without giving up a run, scattering four hits.
UHH got on the board in the seventh inning when
Billi Derleth singled, moved to second on a wild pitch against CBU reliever Iveth Alvarado, and then scored on Gonzales' RBI-single.
California Baptist had 11 hits in the first game, three of them by Caitlyn Lloyd.
In the second game, Soraya Shahbazian blasted a three-run round tripper after two walks put Lancers on bases in the top of the third. That was the only hit of the inning for CBU, but it proved in the long run to be the difference maker.
The Vulcans scored first in this one, putting a run on the board in the first inning. A
Kristen Ishii single, followed by a sacrifice bunt led to a
Bailey Gaspar single that scored Ishii. That 1-0 lead held until Shahbazian's rope made it 3-1, and that Lancer margin stayed the same through the bottom of the sixth inning.
Earlier, Gonzales had come out of the bullpen again, spelling
Danielle Wilson in the third, and was effective for the second time today. She didn't allow a run until the seventh, when the Lancers added an insurance score on back-to-back doubles by Shahbazian and Miller to make it 4-1.
It turns out that CBU would need that insurance.
The Vulcans, wrapping up a 10-game homestand, tried to end it on a positive note. Pinch hitter
Jordan Millwood led off the inning with a single, and
Brinell Kaleikini followed with a base hit to right field that sent pinch runner
Mari Kawano to second. A fielder's choice moved those two runners up a base, bringing up Ishii.
The freshman responded with a base hit to bring in Kawano. One batter later, with two outs, Gaspar fouled off a few pitches before drilling a pitch down the right field line for a double to score Kaleikini to make it 4-3.
But with runners on second and third, CBU starter Ashley Coleman fanned the final batter of the game to preserve the win.
Gaspar had two hits and two RBI in the second game for UHH, while Ishii and Kaleikini added two hits each. Shahbazian had three of CBU's seven hits in game two and drove in three of their four runs.
The Vulcans now hit the road for a long stretch of 14 games, beginning with a Tuesday (March 21) doubleheader at Notre Dame de Namur.
