HONOLULU, Hawaii – The Vanguard softball team swept the Sharks of Hawaii Pacific today in Pacific West Conference action to win the series with one game left to go. The Lions got strong outings from
Brianna Williams and
LeeAnne Miranda in the circle nd the offense chugged along on Tuesday to win 6-0 and 5-3. The Lions improved to 14-26 overall and 9-15 in PacWest play, while the Sharks dropped to 14-30, 8-18.
What Happened? Williams had a no-hitter going through four innings before Hawaii Pacific landed two hits in the bottom of the fourth. While she gave up one hit more in the bottom of the seventh, only one HPU runner got to scoring position in the game and the VU starter fanned 12 Sharks, equaling her career-high. She also fanned six of seven batters over the second to fourth innings. Williams walked three but was in control over all seven innings, improving to 6-12 on the season.
The offense got an instant spark thanks to a
Kamryn Walker triple to lead off the contest.
Lilyana Roth then skied a fly ball to left, but the HPU defender misjudged her read on the ball and it landed in front of her and bounced to the fence, allowing Roth to round the horn and register an inside-the-park home run for a 2-0 Vanguard lead.
The attack commenced again in the top of the fourth, with
Tiffany Pope opening the fourth with a single and
Adrianna Natividad taking a walk to put two aboard. Singles by
Megan Ireland and Walker took the VU advantage to 5-0, and the final Vanguard run came in the top of the sixth. Roth made a two-out single and then stole second, with an
Adriana Portillo single cashing her in to make it 6-0.
The Lions scored six runs on 11 hits and left eight runners on the base paths, while HPU had three hits and six runners left on base. Walker, Roth, Pope, and
Amarah Farley all had two hits, with Roth's three RBI pacing the team in game one.
VU 5 HPU 3 The Sharks scored their only three runs of the day in the bottom of the first, as the hosts jumped on Miranda and benefitted from Vanguard's only error on Tuesday. A single, a double, and two more singles helped the Sharks surge to a 3-0 lead, but Miranda and the defense would shut down HPU from there.
The Blue and Gold made their rebuttal in the top of the third, with
Aeri Corral starting the rally with a double to the left-field fence. She got to second on a ground out and a single to right field by Walker cut the gap to 3-1. Walker then stole second and after a ground out got her to third, Portillo slapped a single to cut the gap to 2-1.
The Lions were stumped for the next two innings, but the offense surged again in the top of the sixth. Farley slapped a single to right field with one out and she stole second to get into scoring position.
Gaby Ramirez then provided the heroics by lancing a double to the left-center fence to tie the score at 3-3, and with good performances in the field in the bottom of the sixth, VU came to the plate in the top of the seventh searching to complete the comeback.
Walker batted a single to center field with one out to get the rally going and Roth catapulted a double to the left field to put the pair at second and third. Portillo then grounded a ball to the left side of the infield, and though both Walker and Roth were caught attempting to advance, the duo dodged the throws of the HPU defenders and all three reached a base safely.
Mia Hernandez was then hit by a pitch to put VU ahead 4-3 and a single by Pope to right field cashed in Portillo to increase the edge to 5-3.
The Sharks got a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh but a groundout gave Miranda and the Lions a 5-3 victory. Vanguard scored five runs on 12 hits, had one error, and left eight runners on the bases paths. HPU scored three runs on eight hits and had six runners left on base. Miranda improved to 4-5 and threw 105 pitches in seven innings of action. Walker, Portillo, Farley, and Ramirez all went 2-for-4 and five VU players each had one RBI.
What's next? Vanguard plays HPU on Wednesday to conclude the series at 3:00 p.m.
