Hawai’i Pacific University won a softball doubleheader against Corban (Ore.), at Howard Okita Field, winning 6-0 and 4-3 on Tuesday.
The HPU Sharks (3-1), took advantage of already playing games. For the Corban Warriors (0-2), opened their season with this doubleheader.
The Sharks received timely hitting from junior Noel Saunders. She totaled four RBI and went 2-of-6 with two walks. Kanoe Tanigawa, also a junior, went 4-for-5 with one walk in the two games. Neva Poulin, a freshman, went 2-for-6 and scored two runs.
Malia Torres, a senior righthander, threw a five-hit shutout to win game one. She had three strikeouts as well as a walk.
The game’s second game winning pitcher was Taylor Thompson (2-0), a freshman righthander. She allowed three runs on seven hits, two walks she had five strikeouts.
With a five-run second inning, the Sharks jumped to an early lead and won game one. This was aided by an RBI triple from Poulin and a RBI double by Saunders. The Sharks scored another run thanks to a Saunders RBI single.
The Sharks, in the second game, plated two runs in the second and third innings. The team then held on, allowing only one Corban Warrior run in inning three and two in the sixth inning.
Sophomore Hoku Ching opened the second with a double. Ching than scored on a wild pitch. Saunders then followed with a groundout RBI to put the Sharks up.
After giving up a Warrior run in third, Tiari Hernandez, a freshman, reached on a walk to begin the bottom of the inning. Hernandez advanced on a throwing error to third. She then scored on the back-half a double steal. Poulin scored for the Sharks, taking a 4-1 lead, thanks to another throwing error.
The Warriors scored two runs with four hits in the sixth. However, the Sharks ended the threat with a bases loaded home-to-first double play.
The Corban Warriors had a runner in the seventh. But, Shark catcher Savanna Savanna-Kovac, a junior, threw out a pinch runner. Taylor Thompson then struck out the next batter, and the last batter fouled out and HPU won the game.
The Sharks will travel to southern California this weekend for the Concordia Kickoff Classic at The Great Park in Irvine. In one of the first contests in the tournament, the Sharks will face Sonoma State at 7:15 AM HST on Friday.
