MORAGA, Calif. – Dominican softball split with Holy Names University falling 5-4 in the first game before bouncing back to take game two 7-3 Saturday afternoon at Cottrell Field.
Junior outfielder
McKenzie Schumacher powered the Penguins' (8-29, 5-21 PacWest) offense with her best performance of the year from the plate, going 6-for-8 with two triples, two runs and four RBI. In game two,
Haley Cheek was clutch for Dominican with a 2-for-3 performance with a walk, a double and an RBI.
Kayla Hall went 2-for-3 from the plate in the first game to help the Hawks (11-28, 10-18 PacWest) complete a comeback victory with two runs and an RBI. Cassidy Simon and Tailor Goods also went 2-for-3 while Simon collected two runs and Goods earned an RBI for HNU.
Game One
The Penguins started strong with multiple baserunners in the first two innings of the game with less than two outs, but were unable to get the timely hits to capitalize on the advantage. In the fourth,
Dahlen Dennis reached on an error and quickly advanced to third on a stolen base and groundout.
Karitza Reyes singled to center to bring home Dennis to give Dominican the first run of the game. Reyes followed the same script, stealing second and moving to third on a groundout to keep the pressure on HNU. Reyes made for home as a ball in the dirt got away from Widner and slid in safe for the 2-0 lead.
Alyssa Waltman drew a two-out walk to force a pitching change, but Dominican's offense continued to hum along in the inning. After
Mady Christensen was hit by a pitch, Schumacher tripled to the right field to put the Penguins in the driver's seat with a 4-0 lead.
The Hawks retaliated in the bottom half of the inning with back-to-back singles from Cassidy Simon and Hall to start the rally. With runners on second and third, Samantha Amarante singled through the left side to bring them home and cut the deficit to 4-2.
Chailey Stewart settled in for HNU in the fifth and retired six of the next seven batters to keep it close. The Hawks seized the momentum as Simon led off the sixth with a single to center on a full count. Simon then stole second and third during the next at bat. Hall came through with a double to left to cut the Penguins lead to one. Valentina Fontes laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Hall to third, and Tailor Goods doubled to left center to bring her in for the 4-4 tie.
In the bottom of the seventh, Olivia O'Neal hit a leadoff single through the right side that was mishandled in the outfield and advanced to third on the error. Cienna Cheshier then singled to left to walk off with the win.
Game Two
The Penguins bounced back as Schumacher continued to produce for Dominican on the offensive end, singling down the left field line before making her way to third off a stolen base and wild pitch. Mott brought her home with a double to right for the 1-0 lead in the first.
The Hawks continued their momentum from game one as Widner drew a leadoff walk, and stole second to advance into scoring position. O'Neal reached on an error and a failed pick-off play sent Widner home to tie the game. With two outs and O'Neal standing on third, another fielding error allowed O'Neal to cross the plate for the 2-1 lead.
Reyes provided a quick response for the Penguins with a homer left center to lead off the second inning and tie the game. Dominican continued to chip away as Mott walked and Cheek singled on a high-bouncer to short. Dennis laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position for Ramirez. Ramirez came through with a successful squeeze bunt and Mott raced in to score the go-ahead run.
After two scoreless innings, the Penguins caught fire in the top of the sixth to extend their lead to five runs. Chinchilla singled through the left side to lead off the inning and Waltman laid down another successful sac bunt to send pinch runner
Keely Bowlan into scoring position. Christensen singled through the left side, and Schumacher hit her second 2-run triple of the day to dead center to make it 5-2 Dominican.
After a pitching change to bring Hall back in, Schumacher took off for home on a slow grounder to short and beat the throw to extend Dominican's lead to 6-2. Cheek kept the rally going, bringing in Mott with a double to center field for the final run of the game for the Penguins and increase the lead to five.
The Penguins will look to add to their win column as they return to Penguin Field to take on San Francisco State University on Monday for a doubleheader beginning at noon PDT. Live stats will be available online.
