HILO, Hawai'i – The Vulcans squandered a three-run lead as Azusa Pacific managed to plate a pair of runs in each of the last two innings as Hawai'i Hilo Softball fell to APU, 4-3, Saturday afternoon in Pacific West Conference play at the Vulcan Softball Field.
After three and five-sixth scoreless innings — with the wind blowing in from left to right — Vulcans first baseman Victoria Macias took a 1-1 count offering and launched a solo homer deep over the left-field fence to erase both the no-hitter and the shutout. Vulcans added on with a trio of base hits to plate two runs to take a 3-0 lead after five complete innings.
APU managed to get on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth, bringing in a pair of runs on a base hit and a sacrifice fly.
Megan Yorba entered out of the bullpen in the opening frame with no outs and the bases juiced but promptly retired the next three batters in order. The lefty went 6.0 innings before making way for Chloe Sales to enter at the start of the seventh with a one-run lead.
After allowing a lead-off walk, Izzy Rivera managed to tie the game with a RBI double to right-center field. After moving over to third base on a subsequent ground out, Rivera came home for the game-winning run on a defensive miscue by Vulcans shortstop Jayda Favela for what would've been the third out.
The Vulcans were retired in order as APU escaped with the victory.
Hawai'i Hilo moved to 7-5 in the PacWest (13-12 overall) as Azusa Pacific moved to a 9-4 conference record (12-10 overall). The Vulcans will head to Northern California for a 12-game road trip with the next home matchup set for April 4.
UP NEXT: Friday, March 14 (9 AM / NOON PT + 11 AM / 2 PM PT) vs Academy of Art (Brisbane, California / Mission Blue Field)
