Softball 3/30/2023 7:28:00 PM

Softball Splits Series with Holy Names

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 HAYWARD, Calif. - The Hawaii Pacific University softball team concluded their final PacWest road series Thursday afternoon against Holy Names University at the Chabot College Softball Field

The Sharks (17-22, 12-12 PacWest) once again split the double-header, winning game one 9-7, before falling in the second game 4-3 to the Hawks (5-16, 4-8 PacWest).

Game One (Box Score)

Hawaii Pacific started the hitting parade in the first inning. Brandi Leong, Tita Saunders, and Kanoe Tanigawa each found a single to take an early 1-0 lead.

Holy Names one upped the Sharks in the bottom half of the frame. Three straight doubles gave them the lead, before back-to-back singles extended their advantage to 3-1.

Fortunately for HPU, there was no shortage of offense production throughout the game. In the second, Tiari Hernandez launched the ball for a two-run home run, her third of the season. Moving to the third, Hailey Yoshida took one for the team to reach base. Jewel Larson later doubled her in, giving Hawaii Pacific the lead back at 4-3.

Hernandez continued her reign of terror, pushing a triple down the right side line to start the top of the fourth. Saunders found another single to bring her across home.

Finally in the fifth inning, three base hits, an error, and some stellar base running plated three more runs. Larson scored on a misplay by Holy Names, before Emily Wheat singled in Neva Poulin, who had singled earlier in the inning. With runners on first and third, Hawaii Pacific executed a perfect double steal to make the score 8-3.

After the first inning, the Holy Names offense went quiet. However, they reappeared in the bottom of the fifth. Using four hits and an error, they cut the deficit to two runs.

Looking for insurance in the seventh, Hoku Ching laced a double into the right center gap. Hernandez slapped her third hit of the day to bring home Ching. The Hawks did score one in the bottom of the seventh, but HPU held strong, winning 9-7.

The top of the lineup for the Sharks wrangled in eight of HPU's 14 hits. Hernandez and Leong had three each, while Saunders had two. Six individuals had an RBI in game one, with Hernandez leading the way with three.

Yoshida got rattled around, but was able to throw a complete game. She tossed 125 pitches and had a season-high eight strikeouts.

Game Two (Box Score)

The top of the second was a marathon for both sides. Jewel Larson began the inning by drawing a seven pitch walk. Savanna Salyer-Kovacs followed that up with a 12-pitch at bat, earning another walk. With two outs on the inning, Tiari Hernandez cracked another triple to plate both runners. Brandi Leong continued the party by singling in Hernandez to make the score 3-0.

Holy Names broke through in the fourth with a single run off of a passed ball. Both offenses could not find any more runs after that.

With their final chance in the seventh inning, the Hawks scored two runs to tie the game up at 3-3 to force extra innings.

Unfortunately, the Sharks were unable to produce anything in the eighth, while Holy Names used a single, a walk, an error, and eventually a sacrifice fly to take the game 4-3.

Hernandez and Leong grabbed a pair of hits each, all while bringing in the three runs together.

Taylor Thompson and Gianna Kerschbaum shared the workload, giving up two earned runs and striking out a batter apiece.

Up Next

That's all for PacWest conference play in California. The Sharks will now prepare for the 20th annual Tournament of Champions, presented by the city of Turlock. Hawaii Pacific will play five games over the span of three days.

Up first is a matchup against Central Washington University tomorrow, March 31, with start time at 9:00 a.m. PST at Pedretti Sports Complex Field #2. Later on in the day, they will battle against California State University Monterey Bay around 2:00 p.m. PST at the Warrior Softball Field.

#GoSharks

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Players Mentioned

#8 Angel Leigh "Hoku" Ching: INF; 5' 3"; Sophomore; Right/Right

#22 Brandi Leong: INF; 5' 7"; Junior; Right/Right

#6 Tita Saunders: OF; 5' 2"; Junior; Left/Right

#13 Kanoe Tanigawa: INF; 5' 7"; Junior; Right/Right

#17 Tiari Hernandez: INF; 5' 7"; Freshman; Right/Right

#4 Jewel Larson: INF; 5' 8"; Freshman; Right/Right

#10 Neva Poulin: C; 5' 6"; Freshman; Right/Right

#14 Savanna Salyer-Kovacs: C; 5' 7"; Junior; Right/Right

#15 Taylor Thompson: RHP; 5' 8"; Freshman; Right/Right

#12 Gianna Kerschbaum: P/OF; 5' 6"; Freshman; Right/Right

Players Mentioned

#8 Angel Leigh "Hoku" Ching
: 5' 3"; Sophomore; Right/Right
: INF

#22 Brandi Leong
: 5' 7"; Junior; Right/Right
: INF

#6 Tita Saunders
: 5' 2"; Junior; Left/Right
: OF

#13 Kanoe Tanigawa
: 5' 7"; Junior; Right/Right
: INF

#17 Tiari Hernandez
: 5' 7"; Freshman; Right/Right
: INF

#4 Jewel Larson
: 5' 8"; Freshman; Right/Right
: INF

#10 Neva Poulin
: 5' 6"; Freshman; Right/Right
: C

#14 Savanna Salyer-Kovacs
: 5' 7"; Junior; Right/Right
: C

#15 Taylor Thompson
: 5' 8"; Freshman; Right/Right
: RHP

#12 Gianna Kerschbaum
: 5' 6"; Freshman; Right/Right
: P/OF