HILO, Hawai'i – Dominican softball escaped with a 7-6 victory Wednesday afternoon over University of Hawai'i at Hilo after a furious comeback by the Vulcans forced extra innings at Vulcan Field.
Alexis Abalos was the hero for the Penguins (7-10, 2-3 PacWest) as she finished 2-for-3 with two RBI including the go-ahead in the top of the ninth.
Tiare Guerrero finished 3-for-3 with two walks and a run, while
Leila Benson was 3-for-4 with a run and two RBI.
Alexis Verduzco (2-1) came in relief to earn the win after pitching two hitless innings with four strikeouts. Lexie Tilton led UHH (5-7, 2-3 PacWest) going 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.
With Dominican leading 6-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Vulcans mounted an improbably comeback as Kealohi Markham singled to left and Breli Agbayani-Shibao singled to center to start the inning. Rayna White put down a sacrifice bunt but an errant throw allowed a run to score with runners stopping at second and third. Tilton singled to left to bring home two and cutting the deficit to two. Kanoe Piltz singled to make it a one run game with runners at the corners and Mia Joaquin sent the game to extras with a sacrifice fly to center.
The Penguins rebounded well as
Kate Tobola singled to center field and Guerrero singled on a slap off the tip of the pitcher's glove to put two runners on.
Taylor Rodriguez singled to left, but Tobola was held by the throw home and Madison Rabe got a flyout to deep left to escape. Verduzco entered in the bottom of the eighth and struck out the first two batters she faced before a Tilton fly out ended the frame.
Benson led off the ninth with a single to left field with a sacrifice bunt moving her to second. Abalos stepped to the plate with two outs and singled to center on a looping ball into a gap in the defense allowing Benson to come home for the 7-6 lead. It was all the margin Verduzco needed as she struck out the first two batters of the bottom of the inning and Tobola secured a short pop up on the third-base line to end the game.
Dominican wasted no time to start the game as rainy conditions caused problems for the UHH pitching staff. Tobola singled to left and stole second before Guerrero walked.
Annabelle Burke singled to right to load the bases before a rain delay sent the teams to the dugouts seeking shelter. When the weather cleared,
Jadyn Magnuson walked on four straight balls with
Morgan Heggstrom bringing in another run on a fielder's choice for the 2-0 lead. The Penguins drew three straight walks with two outs to bring in two more runs to extend the lead to 4-0 after one frame.
After Dominican left the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning, Guerrero walked and Burke singled to lead off the second. Rodriguez sacrificed both runners into scoring position and Benson brought them home for a 6-0 lead.
The Penguins and Vulcans played eight more innings in the second game of the doubleheader and were tied 2-2 when the game was halted due to darkness. The game will resume in the top of the ninth with Dominican up to bat at 10 a.m. Hawaiian Time on Thursday morning.
