HILO, Hawai'i – It was the first official home game of the season for the Vulcans as the Hawai'i Hilo Softball team dropped Game 1 to Dominican, 5-2, Friday afternoon in Pacific West Conference play at the Vulcan Softball Field.
Hawai'i Hilo went down 5-0 to the Penguins before beginning to claw its way back into the game, but the Vulcans rally ultimately fell just short.
Game 2 got through four and a half innings before inclement weather halted progress with the Penguins leading, 2-1.
GAME 1: DOMINICAN 5 - HAWAI'I HILO 2
- On the first play of the game, left fielder Lexie Tilton and shortstop Jayda Favela collided on a popped-up ball to shallow left field. Favela was tended to by athletic trainer Kelsie Espiritu-Tanabe before getting up on her own and powering through for the remainder of the game.
- Tiare Guerrero came around to score later in the inning to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. Dominican added another run in the second inning after rallying for two hits on two outs. The Penguins added on three more in the fourth inning after managing to string together three hits for a 5-0 lead.
- Maya Lee Saneishi and Victoria Macias got two runs back for the Vulcans with RBI hits in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively. Hawai'i Hilo threatened in the final frame, getting two runners on and bringing the potential game-tying run to the plate in the form of the ever-so-clutch Macias, but the Eagles managed to induce a ground out to take the victory.
- Madison Rabe was charged with her first loss of the season, moving to 4-1 in giving up seven hits, two walks and two unearned runs (five total). Chloe Sales came in for 4.0 shutout innings without allowing a hit.
GAME 2: POSTPONED
Game 2 of the doubleheader was halted in the bottom of the fifth inning with Dominican leading, 2-1. Play will resume Saturday, March 2 starting at 11 a.m. followed by the originally-scheduled doubleheader for Games 3 and 4.
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to a 7-2 record (2-1 PacWest) while Dominican moved to 7-7 overall (2-4 PacWest).
The Vulcans will run it back with Dominican for another doubleheader Saturday at the Vulcan Softball Field.
Hawai'i Hilo will then hit the road to Southern California for games against Azusa Pacific (March 12-13), Concordia University Irvine (March 15-16) and Biola (March 18-19) before playing in the Tournament of Champions, presented by the City of Turlock (March 22-24).
VIDEO STREAM PACKAGES
The Hawai'i Hilo Softball team will have 14 home games available to be viewed online in partnership with Out of the Sea Media Arts Inc.
Single-game viewing will be priced at $7.50 with a season-package offering of $78.75.
More information is available at HiloAthletics.com/LiveStream.
