COSTA MESA -- The final Pacific West Conference school from Hawaii, Chaminade University of Honolulu, came to the Vanguard softball field today to begin a four-game set with the Lions.  Each side took one game in Friday's doubleheader, with CUH winning game one 5-4 and the Lions claiming a 6-3 win in game two.  VU went to 16-23 overall and 10-12 in PacWest play, while Chaminade went to 7-26, 6-18.
 
What Happened?  The Silverswords got a leadoff single, and after a stolen base and a walk, the visitors got a double down the left-field line to pocket a pair of runs in the first.  While Mari Ipatzi got a flyout to retire the side in the first, CUH got back to work in the second.   A walk was eventually brought home on a two-out triple, and in the third, a pair of singles and an error made it 4-0.  A sacrifice fly then made it 5-0, though Ipatzi kept CUH off the scoreboard in the top of the fourth.
 
The Lions got a rally going in the bottom of the fifth, as Preslee Brower reached on a throwing error by the Chaminade shortstop.  After Brower got to second on a groundout, Adriana Portillo got aboard with an infield single which put Brower on third.  After Portillo swooped second base, a grounder by Megan Ireland put the runners in motion, but Portillo was called out for interfering with the CUH shortstop.  However, a single through the left side by Lilyana Roth got VU on the board, as the squad trailed 5-1 after Brower touched the plate.
 
VU loaded up the bases in the bottom of the sixth to continue down the comeback trail, as Kayla Rodriguez took a leadoff walk.  Andrea Connor reached on a fielder's choice, with Rodriguez sliding safely into second.  An infield single by Leah Mays juiced the bags, but a pitching change for CUH did not stop Brower, who popped a single into shallow right field to bring in Rodriguez to slice the gap to 5-2.  A grounder by Ava Jo McGowan brought in another run, as Connor chugged home, but the Silverswords got the third out to strand three Lions aboard.
 
Down 5-3, Mia Iacomini came in for Ipatzi in the seventh and did well to halt Chaminade from scoring any insurance runs.  Rodriguez was hit by a pitch with one out in the seventh to give VU life, and Connor blasted a double to the center-field fence, which scored Rodriguez, but Connor was thrown out trying to stretch the play to a triple. 
 
CUH scored five runs on seven hits and left four runners on base, while VU had four runs on six hits, leaving eight runners stranded.  Each team committed an error.  Ipatzi had three strikeouts for the Blue and Gold but dropped to 5-5 on the season, and four different Lions pocketed hits in the game.
 
Game 2
The Silverswords were gifted a pair of runs, as after getting the first two players aboard, a bad throw to third on a steal attempt let both CUH runners touch the plate.  But that was the only stretch for the Silverswords in the lead, as VU scratched five unanswered runs after that.
 
It all began in the bottom of the second, with Brower taking a leadoff walk.  She got to second on a groundout, and ChaCha Miranda smacked a single down the left-field line that easily scored Brower.
 
The bottom of the fourth proved to be the difference, as the Lions struck for four runs, with Brower starting the surge again, this time with a leadoff single.  Bella Bastien made a pinch-hit appearance and hustled on a grounder to beat the throw for an infield single.  With two on, Mays hit a bouncing ball to second, and the CUH third baseman had a problem with it, allowing everyone to reach safely.  Miranda was up next, and she also hit a grounder, but another Silversword error on the throw to first let Miranda reach safely, with Bastien and Brower scoring to send the Blue and Gold ahead 3-2.  A sacrifice fly by Portillo made it 4-2, and Ireland registered an RBI on a single into center field to put the home side up 5-2.
 
While a double and a single in the top of the fifth brought a run back for Chaminade, the Silverswords would not score again, as Lauren Cantwell and Iacomini preserved the lead.  An extra run for VU came in the sixth, as Portillo reached on an error and was followed by a sacrifice bunt by Ireland.  Another CUH error on a grounder by Tiffany Pope opened the door for Portillo to score, and the Lions went on to win 6-3.
 
Chaminade had a 9-7 edge in hits, but a 4-3 lead in errors.  The Silverswords left seven on base, while Vanguard stranded six.  Cantwell had one strikeout in six innings and was charged for only one of the three she surrendered, improving to 5-5.  Iacomini had two Ks in one frame for her first career save.  Kamryn Walker led VU with a 2-for-4 game from the plate, while three different players had RBI.
 
What's Next?  The teams return tomorrow for a noon doubleheader.