KAILUA-KONA, Hawai`i—Biola's Paige Austin pitched ten shutout innings to help her visiting Eagles squeak out two softball victories over Hawai`i Hilo on Monday at Kealakehe High School, 2-0 and 2-1 in ten innings.
The wins were the eighth and ninth straight for Biola, who improved to 6-0 in the Pacific West Conference and to 11-2 overall. The Vulcans are now 2-2 in the PacWest and 7-9 on the year.
Austin pitched a two-hit shutout in the first game and came on in winning relief in the second to improve to 7-1 on the year.
Valerie Alvarado took the loss in the first game (3-4) and
Leah Gonzales suffered the unfair international tiebreaker loss in the second game (4-2).
On the day, Gonzales was almost as effective as Austin. She pitched 11.2 innings, gave up just one run and didn't walk a batter all afternoon.
In the first game, Austin threw blanks and her teammates finally got to Vulcan starter Alvarado in the sixth inning for a pair of runs. Prior to that both pitchers kept base runners to a scant few. Between the two of them, they retired 14 straight batters in the middle innings.
In the fifth, Biola put two runners on with base hits, but Alvarado worked out of trouble. But her luck ran out in the sixth when Ruth Munoz singled and Jennifer Morinishi hit a ground rule double to put runners on second and third with one out. After 14 pitches, Kayla Neff worked a walk to load the bases, and Kylie Vesasco followed with a single up the middle to chase Alvarado and bring in Gonzales.
Not out of trouble yet, Gonzales got help when
Kiarra Lincoln made an over the should catch and fired a perfect strike from shallow left field to catcher
Markie Okamoto for a double play and the third out of the inning. But Austin set the Vulcans down in order in the sixth.
In the seventh,
Brinell Kaleikini worked a walk and
Kamalei Labasan singled off the third base bag to mount a threat. But Austin got the next two batters to pop up and ground out to end the game.
The righthander improved to 6-1 on the year, allowing only two hits, one walk and she fanned seven. Alvarado was the hard-luck loser, giving up just a pair of runs in 5.1 innings. Gonzales went 1.2 innings, only allowing one hit. The Eagles had nine hits in the game.
In the second contest, Gonzales went back to the pitching circle and didn't allow a run until the fifth, when two hit batters, a bunt single and a regular single brought the first run in. Meanwhile, Paula Damas worked out of a couple of jams to blank the Vulcans for five innings, giving up just three hits and a walk before dual threat Morinishi entered the game to pitch.
The Eagles threatened to add insurance in the seventh, putting runners on and second and third twice, but the Vulcans snuffed one of those runs out at the plate and got a ground out to end the inning, sending the home team to their last chance.
In the seventh, pinch hitter
Alana Alvarez drew a walk, but Morinishi got the next two outs. Labasan again kept a rally alive with a single to right field to put runners on first and third. That brought Austin back into the game, to face Kaleikini.
With a 3-2 count, Kaleikini fouled off three pitches before earning a walk to load the bases.
Markie Okamoto then only had to face five pitches before earning a free pass and an RBI to tie the game at 1-1. Austin was able to get the next out to send the game to extras.
Gonzales put the Eagles down 1-2-3 in the top of the eighth, and
Skylar Thomas doubled with one out in the eighth for the home team. But Austin did some stranding of her own with back-to-back strikeouts.
The Eagles went down in order again in the top of the ninth, and though UHH mounted a two-out rally with a hit batter (Kaleikini) and single (Okamoto), but again Austin escaped with a ground ball out.
With the international tiebreaker rule in effect (runner placed on second to start inning), the Eagles that free runner to third with a sacrifice, and then one out later brought home the go-ahead run on Tori Apodaca's single to right field. Apodaca was thrown out trying to advance to second by catcher Okamoto, but Biola was now up 2-1.
In the bottom of the tenth, the Vulcans also moved their runner from second to third with a sacrifice, but Austin induced two ground outs to end the game.
Vevesi Liilii had three hits in the 10-inning game for the Vulcans, and Okamoto had a pair of hits. The game was played at Kealakehe because of wet field conditions at UH Hilo.
The two teams will square off again on Tuesday at noon. The site (UHH or Kealakehe HS) will be determined on Tuesday morning at 8 am.
