SAN RAFAEL, Calif.— Dominican women's softball split a doubleheader with Concordia University of Portland Saturday afternoon in the Penguins' home opener. The Cavaliers earned a 6-2 victory over Dominican in the first game, and the Penguins flipped the script to beat Concordia of Portland 6-2 in game two.
Game one – Cavaliers 6, Penguins 2
Sally Bowles earned a complete game win for the Cavaliers, as just two unearned runs came around to score for the Penguins. Karley Yoshioka had a strong performance at the plate, going 4-for-4 with three runs and two RBI. Hannah Self also helped power the Cavalier's offense in game one, going 2-for-4 with a run and RBI.
McKenzie Schumacher led the Penguins while going 3-for-4 with one run, and
Vanessa Porto went 2-for-3 to jumpstart a stellar day at the plate.
Alyssa Waltman earned the start for the Penguins on the mound, but was unable to contain the Cavs, giving up six runs, four of which were earned.
Yoshioka proved to be the difference maker from the start of the game, knocking in Macy Besuyen for an RBI single up the middle in the top of the first. With two on, Fischer carried the Cavalier's momentum, lining a single to right field, scoring Yoshioka and Self to put Concordia up 3-0 heading into the bottom of the first.
Fischer and Yoshioka teamed up once again to help the Cavs tack on another run in the top of the third as Fischer sent a high fly ball to center field, allowing Yoshioka to tag up and slide past Schumacher's through from center field to give Concordia the 4-0 lead.
The Penguins broke the silence in the bottom half of the inning when Schumacher hit a lead-off single up the middle, and stole second on the following pitch to quickly move into scoring position. Mott grounded out to Delgado at short, allowing Schumacher to take third, and Chelsea Sligh threw across the diamond in an attempt to catch Schumacher off the base. Sligh's throw slipped under Jordan Smith-Imes' glove at third, and Schumacher raced home to score.
Concordia took advantage of Dominican miscues to retaliate in the top of the fourth, as Besuyen and Delgado reached base on errors committed by the Penguins. Yoshioka came through once again, singling up the middle, scoring Besuyen from second to take a 5-1 lead. Self knocked in Yoshioka from second on the following at-bat to extend the Cavs' lead to 6-1.
The Penguins tagged on another run in the bottom of the fifth as Lapinid singled to left field to bring around Garza to score, but Concordia was able to put a halt to the two-out rally as Bowles retired
Shelby Cefalu for the final out of the inning.
Game two – Dominican 6, Cavaliers 2
Ramirez, Porto, and Lapinid carried their strong performances at the plate in game one into game two to fuel Dominican to their first home victory of the season. Ramirez went 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs and two RBI. Porto continued her stellar performance in game one, finishing the second game of the doubleheader going 2-for-3 with two RBI. Lapinid went 1-for-3 and added two runs and two RBI to her stat line. Starting pitcher
Shelby Keltner earned the win for the Penguins, improving her record to 2-1 on the year.
Besuyen went 2-for-3 with a walk for the Cavaliers, and Fischer went 1-for-3, while adding a run and an RBI to lead the Cavs on the offensive end, but it wasn't enough to catch up to the Penguins.
After three and a half scoreless innings of play, Ramirez sparked the Penguins' offense with a lead-off single to center field. Mott completed the sac bunt to move Ramirez into scoring position for Lapinid. Lapinid came through in the clutch, sending a double to right center, bringing around Ramirez for the 1-0 lead. Porto kept the momentum rolling, singling through the 5-6 gap and scoring Lapinid from second to extend the Penguins' lead to 2-0.
The Cavaliers retaliated in the top of the fifth as Lydia Dillon was able to come around to score from second on a fielding error on Ramirez at third base. Keltner rejuvenated the Penguins by firing a strike past Self to end the inning and get the Penguins out of the jam.
Dominican took that momentum into the bottom half of the inning to load the bases, and capitalized on the Cavalier's miscues when Lapinid reached on an error by Smith-Imes at third, allowing Schumacher to race home for the 3-1 lead. The Penguins continued to add to the lead as Waltman hit into a fielder's choice, and Ramirez was able to score from third. Porto capped off the inning with an RBI single to right center, allowing Lapinid to score from second to boost Dominican to a 5-1 lead.
Fischer led off in the top of the sixth with a solo home run to left center, leading Dominican Head Coach
Juliana Santos to bring in
Rosa Leguria to relieve Keltner on the mound. Leguria retired two straight, and forced Sligh to fly out to Schumacher in center to end the threat.
Dominican rallied once more in the bottom of the sixth as Ramirez sent a two-out double to left field to bring in
Ebony Garza from second, giving Dominican a 6-2 advantage heading into the final inning.
Dominican will return to Penguin Field Sunday, Feb. 23, for their first PacWest matchup against Holy Names University at noon and 2 p.m. PST. Live stats will be available online.
