HILO, Hawai`i—Isabelle Mejia pitched no-hit ball through five innings and Bailey Gaspar hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh to help Hawai`i Hilo salvage a split against previously unbeaten California Baptist on Monday afternoon at the UH Hilo Softball Complex.

The Lancers won the first game 8-4 on the strength of two home runs by Hannah Thieroff, while the Vulcans rode the arm of Mejia and the bat of Gaspar to win the nightcap, 4-3. California Baptist is now 17-4 on the season and 9-1 in the Pacific West Conference, while the Vulcans moved to 14-7 on the year and to 5-3 in conference play.

With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Gaspar launched a ball deep and far over the left field fence, just inside the foul pole. It was the second time in less than a week that the senior third baseman ended a game with a shot over the fence—she also did it in the eighth inning of an 8-6 victory over Azusa Pacific last Thursday. It was her seventh home run of the year, and came in a driving rain that arrived sometime in between the fifth and sixth innings.

"That was a dramatic home run, especially when you consider the rain and everything else that was happening," said head Callen Perreira afterwards.

The sudden ending capped a game that saw a couple of full lead swings.

Mejia, pitching for the first time since February 9, and doing so on her 21^st birthday, was untouchable through the first five innings. To that point, she didn't allow a hit, struck out five and didn't walk a batter. Only a hit batter in the second inning kept her from heading towards a perfect game.

Meanwhile, the Vulcan offense put up two runs during a two-out rally in the third inning against Lancer pitcher Kellye Springstead. Kiarra Lincoln walked to start the fun, and Gaspar singled her to third base. Brinell Kaleikini followed with a double to drive in the first run, and Mejia then helped her own cause with an RBI-single to make it 2-0.

The Vulcans added another run in the fifth when Mari Kawano singled to lead off the inning, and Lincoln followed with a double over the left fielder's head to bring home Kawano (3-0).

Anise Avalos broke up the no-hitter with a sharp single to left in the top of the sixth as the rain came down harder. Nonetheless Mejia got the next three outs, and headed to the seventh inning just three outs away from a shutout.

But the Lancers rallied back. Soraya Shahbazian was hit by a pitch to start the inning, and Thieroff followed with a single to right field. Ali Subia then hit a shot to left centerfield that a racing Kaleikini just missed, bringing home Shahbazian for the first Lancer run of the game. Shaye Felix followed with a sacrifice fly (3-2), and after a wild pitch moved a runner to third, Halle Rosario's ground ball scored pinch runner Alley Johnson on a close play at the plate to tie the game.

 In the bottom of the seventh, Lincoln led off with a screaming line drive down the left field line that Caitlyn Lloyd made a sliding catch on, setting the stage for Gaspar.

The win snapped a three-game skid for the Vulcans, who had lost two of those games to Concordia by just one run.

"That was something we really needed, after playing a few tight games and losing them," Perreira said. "It was our turn to come back."

Which also begs the question, why hadn't Mejia pitched since a 12-6 win over Western New Mexico on Feb. 9 at the Dixie State tournament?

"She had a little bit of an injury that she was working through, so we were riding Cyanne (Fernandez) pretty good," Perreira explained. "Izzy pitched really well today, she had a great outing. It's safe to say that she is feeling better and you will see more of her."

That is good news to Fernandez, who might have officially hit the wall in the first game. Pitching in 15 of UH Hilo's first 19 games, she had a hard time finding the plate out of the gate against the Lancers. She walked the first two batters she faced, forcing her to give Thieroff something too good to hit and the junior first baseman launched it over the left centerfield fence to give CBU a 3-0 lead before the Vulcans came to bat.

The Vulcans got one run back in the third on a Lincoln hit and Lancer throwing error, and the teams both scored a single run in the fifth—CBU on a Felix sacrifice fly and UHH on a Kaleikini single that scored Lincoln, who had singled, making the score 4-2.

But Thieroff did damage again with a another three-run shot in the sixth in almost the same spot as before, chasing Hernandez from the game, and making the count 8-2. The Vulcans got two runs back in the bottom half when Gaspar singled home two Vulcan runners, drawing closer at 8-4. UH Hilo put two runners on base in the seventh, but couldn't get them home as Ciara Stapp shut the door to get the win, improving to 8-2 on the season.

Theiroff, who came into the game hitting .465, went 3-for-3 with six RBI in the first game. Gaspar was 4-for-8 on the day with three RBI.

Fernandez suffered her third loss in the first game (11-3), while the Vulcans pinned the loss in the second game on Springstead, who fell to 7-2.

Mejia earned her second win of the year (2-1), allowing only three hits. She walked no one and fanned five.

The Vulcans knocked the Lancers off the top perch in the PacWest, which now belongs to unbeaten Dixie State (18-0 overall/4-0 PacWest). The Trialblazers visit the Vulcans for a big four-game series this weekend, with Friday and Saturday doubleheaders that start at noon.