One close game, and one that’s not so close – it never fails for UH-Hilo’s softball team.
One close game, and one that’s not so close – it never fails for UH-Hilo’s softball team.
The Vulcans couldn’t make the formula work in their favor on either end of Saturday’s doubleheader, falling 7-1 and 4-3 to Cal Baptist, closing a 10-game homestand against the PacWest elite with just two wins.
“We always compete in one game and we don’t in the other, for the most part,” coach Callen Perreira said.
In previous doubleheaders this season at their field, the Vulcans (8-12, 2-8 PacWest) beat Concordia 1-0, before losing 8-1, then they lost to the Eagles 7-1 and 10-9 in 13 innings the next day; Azusa Pacific came in for a sweep (winning 10-2 and 1-0) and the Vulcans split with Dixie State, losing 8-0 and winning 1-0 on March 12.
Detect a pattern yet?
“Sometimes we don’t know who is going to show up,” Perreira said.
Leah Gonzales did in both contests Saturday, firing 4 2/3 innings of strong relief in the second game after taking over for Danielle Wilson (4-4).
Bailey Gaspar hit an RBI double with two outs in the seventh to draw UH-Hilo within 4-3, but Ashley Coleman (5-3) struck out Danielle Pulido with the winning run on second to end the contest, finishing a complete game for the Lancers (16-7, 10-2).
Gaspar had two hits and two RBIs, Brinell Kaleikini was 2 for 3 with a run scored and Gonzales allowed just a run and five hits with three strikeouts.
UH-Hilo flies out Sunday morning for Northern California, where the Vulcans will play five PacWest doubleheaders before entering the Tournament of Champions, which runs March 31-April 2.
This might be the rare instance of a team looking to get well on the road.
“Our girls had intensity in both games and were in it mentally, and that’s half the battle,” Perreira said. “Hopefully, we can carry that on to the road. We hit a lot better (Saturday) than we have recently.”
The most dependable Vulcan of late has been right-hander Cyanne Fernandez (1-3), but after enjoying a stint of 23 innings in which she only allowed one run, Cal Baptist hit two home runs and got to the junior for seven runs in the second inning of the opener. Gonzales worked 5 1/3 scoreless innings, but Kellye Springstead (5-2) was stingy for Cal Baptist, scattering four hits in six shutout innings.
Gonzales hit a run-scoring single in the seventh.
UH-Hilo swept
in baseball
Eric Vega and Dylan Spain were tough-luck losers as Concordia swept the Vulcans 2-0 and 3-2 to start off a four-game series in Irvine, Calif.
Vega (1-1) allowed just four hits and two runs in 7 1/3 innings in the first game. Keaau High graduate Jonathan Segovia was 2 for 3.
The Vulcans (3-7) made four errors in the second game in back of Spain (1-2), who yielded five hits, two runs – one earned – with two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Jacob Grijalva was 2 for 3, but the Eagles (8-13) were able to fly high despite being out hit 13-10 on the day.