KANEOHE, Hawai'i – Dominican softball was unable to generate the offense it needed to back up its fantastic defensive effort as it fell 1-0 to Hawaii Pacific on Wednesday afternoon at Howard Okita Field.
Lauren Lapinid led the Penguins (7-15, 4-9 PacWest) from the plate going 2-for-3 while
Shelby Keltner and
Rosa Leguria combined to allow one run on 73 pitches. Taylor Thompson tossed the complete-game shutout for the Sharks (7-9, 1-2 PacWest) to move to 5-4 on the year.
Lapinid got Dominican off to a strong start as she singled to right field with one out in the top of the first, but she was unable to advance any further as Thompson was able to retire the next two batters. Keltner equaled Thompson for the next two innings as no runners advanced past first base until the bottom of the third.
HPU got the first scoring opportunity as Leipua Kaui, Noel Saunders and Neva Poulin all singled to center field to load the bases with two outs in the third. Keltner though left them stranded as she induced a fly out to
Jillian Lampa in left field. The Penguins made a pitching change in the fourth and Jewel Larson doubled to right center to move into scoring position with one out. After
Peyton Mott made a catch on a fly ball to center for the second out of the inning, Savan Salyer-Kovac singled to right field to bring in the first run of the game.
Caitlyn Perales and
Faith Erb singled on grounders through the infield in the top of the fifth as Dominican looked to answer, but Thompson got out of the jam when Larson snagged a line drive back to third to end the inning. Lapinid then singled to right to lead off the top of the sixth and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. Once again Thompson left the runner stranded in scoring position and Dominican was unable to get any closer to the tie.
The second game was halted in the fourth inning with HPU leading 9-0. The game will resume at 11:30 a.m. HST prior to the previously scheduled doubleheader between the teams at Howard Okita Field as they look to conclude their series.