KANEOHE, Oahu--Valerie Alvarado and
Taisha Bratton provided the arm and big bat in the first game, but the Vulcans left too many runners on base in the second contest during a softball split with Chaminade on Saturday at Howard Okita Field.
UHH won the first game 6-3 to move to 8-0 on the year, but the Silverswords survived a couple of late Vulcan rallies in the nightcap for a 2-1 win. The Vulcans are now 8-1 overall and in the Pacific West Conference. Chaminade is now 7-5 both on the year and in conference play.
The two teams play again tomorrow (Sunday), with the first game starting at noon.
In the first game, Vulcan pitcher Alvarado worked through some uncharacteristically wild moments in the first inning and her team rallied with four runs in the sixth behind a freshman's pinch hit home run for the 6-3 victory.
UHH scored a run in the top of the first after
Darian Obara singled, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on
Markie Okamoto's single. Alvarado then got the first two 'Swords out in the bottom half of the inning, that part was normal for the senior pitcher who came into the game with a 3-0 record and a 0.23 ERA. But then she lost command, walking FOUR straight batters. Two singles followed and the Silverswords took a 3-1 lead.
But Alvarado locked in after that. She set Chaminade down in order for five straight innings, in all retiring 17 straight batters. CUH broke the string with a single in the seventh, but Alvarado stranded her for her fourth win of the year (4-0). Meanwhile, the Vulcans got one run for Alvarado in the fifth when
Kiarra Lincoln singled, stole second and scored on
Vevesi Liilii's RBI-base hit.
In the sixth,
Alana Alvarez singled home a run to tie the contest at 3-3. With two Vulcans on base, freshman pinch hitter Bratton launched her first collegiate home run over the left field fence to put her team up 6-3, leaving Alvarado to do her thing in the sixth and seventh for the win.
UH Hilo had nine hits in the game by eight different players. Obara had two hits in three at-bats to lead her team. Alvarado's line included seven innings pitched, three hits, three earned runs, four walks and nine strikeouts. She threw 127 pitches.
In the second game, UHH's
Sara Bhatt and CUH's Taylor Genera locked up in a pitcher'd duel. The Silverswords scored first in the third when Bhatt hit back-to-back batters, and the Silverswords took advantage with a bunt, sacrifice fly and a double to drive home two runs for a 2-0 lead.
Genera meanwhile was keeping the Vulcan bats silent. She gave up just one hit through the first five innings before finally finding trouble in the sixth. Lincoln led off the inning with a triple and came home for UHH's first run on Obara's single. Liilii and Okamoto followed with base hits to load the bases, but Genera was able to get one more out to get out of the inning.
In the seventh, the Vulcans loaded the bases again with singles by
Skylar Thomas,
Alana Alvarez and Lincoln. But Genera again worked magic to strand those Vulcans and clinch the win. Over the last two innings, Genera gave up seven hits but UH Hilo left the bases loaded both innings.
Lincoln had three hits in the game including a triple and six other Vulcan players had hits. Bhatt was the hard-look loser, allowing just two runs in six innings, four hits, one walk and she struck out one batter.
Dating back to the 2020 season, the Vulcans had won 11 straight games prior to the second game loss. Still with today's split, they still have a 2.5 game lead on the 'Swords heading into Sunday's twinbill.
