HILO, Hawai`i--Isabelle Mejia continued to dazzle in the pitcher's circle with a 3-0 shutout in the first game and her Hawai`i Hilo Vulcans laced 10 hits in the second contest to hold off visiting Holy Names 7-5 to get a Saturday doubleheader sweep at the UH Hilo Softball Field.
The twin killing gives the Vulcans three of four wins in the weekend series, improving to 12-4 overall and to 7-1 in Pacific West Conference play. The Hawks are now 4-11 overall and 3-7 in conference action.
Mejia tossed a four-hit shutout in the opener, walking just one batter and fanning five. She had to work around a walk and an error in the first inning, and two base hits in the sixth that put runners on second and third. But she fanned the next Hawk to get out of the inning.
The senior retired ten straight batters in the middle of the contest and did not allow an extra base hit.. She has now given up just one run in her last 25 innings of work and only seven hits. She improved to 6-0 with the win and dropped her ERA to 1.50.
Problem was, Holy Names' Haighley Kissee was also doing good work in the pitching circle. She had only allowed one hit during a scoreless game into the fifth inning. Walks then became her undoing when she offered free passes to begin the inning to
Brandee Chinen and
Kiarra Lincoln.
Maria Steadmon then made her pay with an RBI-single to right field, and
Rayla Jacobs-Kea followed with a deep fly ball to score Lincoln and make the score 2-0.
In the sixth, the Vulcans added insurance via another walk and a
Brinell Kaleikini RBI-single (3-0) and Mejia retired the side in the top of the seventh. Kissee gave up just three hits on the day, but walked seven batters. Nobody had more than one hit for the Vulcans, although Chinen reached base three times via the walk. Rayah Davis had two of HNU's four hits.
In the second game, the Vulcans had to score twice in the bottom of the sixth inning to claim the 7-5 win. With the score tied at 5-5,
Chloe Domingo led off the inning with a drive off the left field fence for a double. Lincoln then laced a triple to left-center field to score Domingo and Steadmon had another clutch RBI-hit to give the Vulcans cushion going into the final half inning.
Starter
Valerie Alvarado worked in and out of trouble and needed a little more help in the seventh. She got it when Steadmon laid out for a diving grab of Tailor Goods' screamer in right-center. Alvarado got the next out, and pitched the complete game, scattering 10 hits and five runs, improving to 2-2 on the season.
Earlier, Mejia, playing in the DP spot, hit a two-run double down the left field line and Kaleikini hit a sacrifice fly to give UHH a 3-0 lead through three. The Hawks came back with two runs in the top of the fourth, but the Vulcans replaced those in the bottom half on another double by Domingo and the Vulcans led, 5-2.
The Hawks wouldn't go away though. They added two more runs in the fifth and tied it in the sixth (5-5) before the home team salted the game away in the bottom of the sixth with two runs on three hits (leaving the bases loaded).
Four players had two hits in the second game for the Vulcans (Lincoln, Steadmon, Jacobs-Kea and Domingo), and Steadmon and Mejia had a pair of RBI each. Domingo had entered the game in the third inning when starting third baseman
Danielle Antolin was injured.
UH Hilo remains home this week, hosting Dominican in a four-game series that begins with a Tuesday (March 12) doubleheader that starts at noon, and wraps up on Wednesday with a noon twinbill.
