SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The Dominican University of California softball team twice erased early deficits but was unable to get over the hump in a pair of PacWest losses, 12-7 in eight innings and 4-1, to Hawai'i Pacific on Tuesday afternoon.
HPU scored four runs in the second, all with two outs, to chase starter
Ashlyn Moriarity. In the third inning,
Kelsey Goodner allowed two more runs on two hits but limited the damage by leaving the bases loaded thanks to
Tayler Munoz's spear at the hot corner. The Penguins finally chipped away at the Sharks' 6-0 lead in the bottom half of the inning.
Alyssa Lanza and
Tori Johnson both singled and
Katelyn Harden loaded the bases when her flyball was dropped by right fielder Noelani Boyer.
Catlyn Cavender plated two with a double to left field, then
Leslie Mesa and Munoz had back-to-back singles up the middle to make it a 6-4 ballgame. HPU got a run back in the fourth on a sacrifice fly.
The Penguins scored twice in the fifth on three hits but were unable to tie or take the lead with one out and stranded a pair. Cavender went opposite field yet again in the seventh, and in a big way, with a game-tying solo homer that forced extra innings. It was the seventh homer of the year for No. 7 and the game was suddenly tied 7-7 in the seventh.
Goodner weaved in and out of trouble leaving a pair on in the fourth and fifth, another runner in the sixth, and the bases loaded in the seventh. However, things finally caught up with the Penguins when HPU broke through and batted around for a five-run inning. The Sharks stranded two more in the frame and left 15 on the basepaths for game one alone but the damage was done. Dominican went down in order in the bottom of the eighth.
In game two, HPU took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on a Boyer two-out double. The Penguins answered quickly thanks to control issues by HPU starter Paige Crawford. The Penguins drew four walks, three in a row. Munoz walked with the bases loaded to tie the game 1-1 but reliever Alexa McCoin entered and with her second pitch got
Samantha Talavera to end into a rally and inning-ending double play. Boyer hit a three-run homer in the fifth to put HPU back in front. Outside of a
Kayla Rodriguez leadoff single in the fourth, the Penguins were retired in order the rest of the way.
Harden, who took the loss in game two, went 3-for-7 at the plate and scored three times on the day. She leads the team with a .383 batting average and .435 on-base percentage. Cavender went 4-for-6 with three runs, three runs driven in, a homer, and a walk. She boasts a team-best .727 slugging percentage and 18 RBI. Munoz had three runs batted in.
Dominican will head to Turlock, California for the three-day Tournament of Champions hosted by Cal State Stanislaus from Friday, March 27 to Sunday, March 29. They'll start things off on Friday versus UC San Diego at 6 p.m. and Cal State East Bay at 8:15 p.m.
