(PHOTO--2021 Vulcan seniors, back row from left to right--Kamalei Labasan, Valerie Alvarado, Leah Gonzales, Vevesi Liilii. Front row--Kiarra Lincoln, Darian Obara, Markie Okamoto.)

SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--Nikki Zielinski broke up a 0-0 game with a solo home run in the seventh inning and Valerie Alvarado pitched a 5-hit shutout to help UH HIlo to a 4-0 win over host Dominican in the final game of the Pacific West Conference AQ Pod Series at Penguin Field. 

That win gave the Vulcans a split on the day and a 17-11 overall record. Earlier, for the second time in Pod Series, the Vulcans lost a one-run game to No. 1 regionally ranked Concordia. The No. 11 nationally ranked Eagles went 4-0 in the series, while both Dominican and UH Hilo were 1-3. Dominican need a win against the Vulcans to stay alive in the chance to travel to next week's NCAA Division II West Region tournament, but their 17-19 overall mark puts them under the .500 qualification.

UH Hilo, ranked fifth in this week's region poll, will now await Sunday's NCAA Selection Show to see if they will hear their name called. Six teams will play in the tournament, hosted by Concordia in Irvine, Calif.

In the last game of the Pod Series, UH Hilo and Dominican were locked in a scoreless battle until Zielinski's blast. The Penguin's Shelby Keltner and UHH's Alvardo had both worked through six innings having allowed no runs and five hits each, leading most in the ballpark to believe that the game would likely head to extra innings.

But Zielinski changed everything with one swing of the bat. On the first pitch she saw in the seventh, she blasted a shot the opposite way that cleared the right-centerfield fence with room to spare. It was her first extra-base hit of the season, and it couldn't have come at a better time for Vulcan fans. But there would be more to come. Chloe Domingo walked and Skylar Thomas followed with a base hit to put two runners on with no outs.

After a Kamalei Labasan bunt moved the runners to second and third, Angel Prewitt drilled a ball down the rightfield line that rolled into the corner and easily scored Domingo and Thomas. Prewitt scampered into third with a two-run triple, and she would score after the next batter Kiarra Lincoln hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield.

A 4-0 lead was more than enough for Alvarado, who induced three straight ground balls right back at her to end the game. It was Alvarado's fourth shutout of the season but her first since April 3. She gave up just five hits, walked one and fanned five. It was her first win since April 10, improving to 5-4 on the year. Keltner, who was the winning pitcher versus the Vulcans in a 5-2 game on Wednesday, fell to 9-9. 

Lincoln and Thomas had two hits each for the Vulcans, who had eight overall. Vanessa Porto had two hits for the Penguins.

In the morning game against Concordia, the Vulcans suffered another one-run loss to the region's top ranked team, this time 4-3 after dropping a 2-1 thriller on Wednesday.

Solo home runs and good pitching by two freshmen hurlers were a big part of the story. Concordia's Sydney Sprinkle hit blasts over the right-centerfield fence and the left-centerfield barrier to provide two of the Eagles' four runs. The Concordia catcher accounted for the first run of the game in the third inning with a lead-off crank and then added another roundtripper in the fifth. At that point in the top of fifth, those were the only runs in the game.

Prior to Sprinkle's first home run, her sixth of the year, UHH's Sara Bhatt had worked out of trouble to keep the Eagles scoreless. She pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth, but Sprinkle again led off an inning (this time the fifth) with another shot to make it 2-0. 

The Vulcans countered in the bottom half of the inning when shortstop Lincoln hit a no-doubter over the leftfield fence to make a 2-1 game. That was the first run given up by fellow freshman pitcher Cortney Koelmans, who would leave the game two batters later with runners at first and third. Rae Flores came out of the bullpen to snuff the threat, with help from her second baseman McKinsey Thrope who dove for a ground ball and then got up and threw out Vevesi Liilii (who had doubled) at the plate, with what would have been the tying run.

Concordia added two more runs in the sixth inning on three hits to seemingly put the game away (4-1), but the Vulcans scrambled back with runs in the bottom half. Zielinski led the inning off with a single and pinch hitter Taisha Bratton walked. Prewitt then hit a sharp single to right, scoring Zielinksi and moving pinch runner Brandee Chinen to third. Lincoln drove home Chinen with a single to make it 4-3 

But Eagle reliever Erika Morris got the next two batters and then put the Vulcans down 1-2-3 in the seventh to end the game. Koelmans picked up the win for the Eagles (3-2) and Bhatt took the loss (5-3). Morris earned her second save. Lincoln was 3-for-4 with two RBI to lead the Vulcan offense. Liilii and Zielinski also had two hits each for UHH. Sprinkle was the obvious offensive star for the Eagles with the two home runs.

Concordia moved to 29-11 and would another win against Dominican (2-0) to improve to 30-11 on the year. 

To listen to the podcasts of the games....

http://penguinradio.dominican.edu/2020softball/210513_sb_cui_VS_hilo.mp3

http://penguinradio.dominican.edu/2020softball/210513_sb_VS_hilo.mp3

Sunday's NCAA Selection Show will begin at 4 pm Hawaii time at ncaa.org.