Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 KENTFIELD, Calif. — The Dominican University of California women's softball team earned a split in Saturday's Pacific West Conference doubleheader with BYU-Hawaii, dropping a close 8-7 decision in game one and taking the nightcap 6-1.

In game one, junior pitcher Karly Harris (6-21) retired the first five batters she faced but three errors in the top of the third inning led to a six-run frame and a lead that the Seasiders (6-40/3-27) wouldn't relinquish. Dominican sliced the lead in half in the bottom half of the inning when junior Kayleigh Klingberg launched a home run well over the right field fence that scored sophomore Leslie Mesa and freshman Tori Johnson and sophomore. Dominican got a gift run in the fifth. A seven-pitch bat by Samantha Talavera should have ended the inning with the bases loaded but instead Talavera reached on an infield error, which allowed Johnson to score.

Another Klingberg three-run homer in the sixth gave Dominican seven runs but two BYU-Hawaii runs in the top half of the sixth inning proved to be the difference in game one.

BYU-Hawaii got another early jump in game two. Freshman pitcher Ashlyn Moriarity (3-20) surrendered a run but limited the damage by stranding a pair. She settled down and faced the minimum over the next three innings and threw 101 pitches in the game. Dominican backed her effort with a run in the second on an unearned run, then added on with a five-run third inning. Johnson laid down a sacrifice bunt and freshman Marisa Cordisco was nearly doubled off when caught off the bag at third. Instead Seasider third baseman Tiffany Smith sailed a throw to catcher Katelyn Kerr, which allowed Cordisco to escape the pickle and score. From there, Mesa singled in a run and she and Klingberg, who walked, came home on a double by third baseman Dominique Perry. Junior Rachel Santiago drove Perry home from second with a single up the middle.

The Dominican defense held the lead with a cleaner second game that featured a pair of doubles plays, including a nice 4-3 double play with Santiago tagging the runner and flipping to first to end the fifth inning. Moriarity initiated a double play to end the sixth, fielding her position, then turning to Santiago at second, who fired to Klingberg at first.

Mesa, who went 2-for-5, still leads Dominican with a .324 clip and paces the team in hits (45). Sophomore shortstop Kayla Rodriguez, who boasts a .436 on-base percentage, swiped two more bases to increase her team lead to 24. For Klingberg, it was homers seven and eight, which leads the team. She is now slugging .521.

The Lady Penguins head to California Baptist University for a pair of PacWest doubleheaders on Thursday and Friday, April 26 and 27. They'll wrap up the season with a conference doubleheader vs. Holy Names University on Saturday, May 4 at College of Marin in Kentfield, Calif.