HONOLULU, Hawai'i – With the final push for the Pacific West Conference postseason heating up, Hawai'i Hilo Softball picked up a pair of key victories over Chaminade for the doubleheader sweep, 2-1 and 4-1, Saturday afternoon at the Silversword Field at Sand Island Beach Park.
The Vulcans continued to solidify their playoffs potential after claiming their sixth-straight victory to sit at No. 3 in the conference standings.
No. 16 Concordia University Irvine recently locked up the PacWest regular season title, currently holding a 22-2 record with four conference games to go. Elsewhere, it's going to be a tight race for the remaining three postseason spots with teams having from anywhere between four and 10 conference contests yet to be played.
GAME 1: HAWAI'I HILO 2 - CHAMINADE 1
- Both of Hawai'i Hilo's runs came with Kanoe PIltz at the plate. In the top of the second, the designated player dropped a single to right-center field to score Lexie Tilton from second base after leading the inning off with a drawn walk.
- In the sixth inning with the score tied, 1-1, Piltz hit a sharp chopper that couldn't be handled by the Silverswords shortstop, bringing Makena Nera home for the game-winning run.
- Chloe Sales earned her fourth win in the form of her third complete game of the season, allowing just three hits and one run. It was the third win in the last three appearances for Sales as she dropped her conference-only ERA to 1.32.
- Nera and Jayda Favela each scooped up seven assists at third base and shortstop, respectively, as Kiani Nakamura tallied two assists and four putouts at second base. Sales induced 17 groundouts against just three flyouts.
GAME 2: HAWAI'I HILO 4 - CHAMINADE 1
- Madison Rabe added on another complete-game victory, scattering nine hits, three walks and one hit batsman to allow just one run in improving her overall record to 8-2 on the season. In contrast to Game 1, Rabe induced 17 flyouts against just two groundouts.
- Hawai'i Hilo plated a pair of runs in the opening frame, bashing out four consecutive hits with RBI knocks by Victoria Macias and Tilton.
- The second and third innings saw similar sequences of events with Rayna White and Piltz driving in RBI hits to put the final score at 4-1.
- Chaminade threatened in the third, fifth, sixth and seventh innings with six totals hits but nothing to show for except nine stranded runners. Rabe ended the game with a backwards 'K' to the potential game-tying run at the plate.
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to a 21-14 record (14-10 PacWest) while Chaminade moved to 10-13 in conference (14-19 overall). The two teams will return to Sand Island Beach Park tomorrow for another doubleheader, but this time for non-conference matchups.
The Vulcans will be back on the Big Island to close out the regular season next weekend, hosting Chaminade April 20 and HPU on April 21.
The four-team PacWest Conference Championship postseason tournament is set for May 1-3 in San Rafael, California at Dominican.
PACWEST HAWAI'I CHALLENGE
In an effort to elevate Hawai'i-based rivalries, the PacWest Hawai'i Challenge has awarded the top school in athletics competition among the state's Division II institutions going back to the late 1970s.
Comprising 10 sports that all three schools participate in, points are awarded from head-to-head Pacific West Conference matchups as well as final placements at conference-ending championship events. The team with the highest total gets three points while the second highest gets two and the third-place finisher receives one.
