KANEOHE, Hawaii – Big innings hindered the Western Oregon softball teams as they dropped its first two games of their island road trip against Hawaii Pacific, despite a triple play turned in game one, on Monday at Howard A. Okita Field.
 
Game One – Hawaii Pacific 10, Western Oregon 6
Western Oregon scored four runs in the first inning on a windy afternoon on the windward side of Oahu, but the host Sharks put up crooked numbers in four frames to win the opener. Ashley Doyle doubled home a pair while Emma Alfonso and Ku'ulei Siolo drew bases loaded walks.
 
HPU plated two in the first and three more in the second inning to pull even at 5-5 after WOU plated Ryanne Huffman in the visiting half.
 
The WOU defense came up huge in the HPU third to stymie a threat. After a double and single put two runners aboard, the Wolves turned a triple play on a sharp liner to center field. Zoe Clark caught the initial contact, fired the ball to Destiny Kuehl at third to get the second out and a final toss to Kelsie Gardner at second completed the triple putout.
 
Kuehl plated Gardner with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth before Hawaii Pacific countered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning and two insurance runs in the sixth for a four-run victory.
 
Freshman pitcher Chandler Bishop scattered five runs on six hits over the final three innings to take the loss in the circle. Doyle, Gardner and Alfonso each recorded two hits to lead the offense.
 
Game Two – Hawaii Pacific 8, Western Oregon 6
The Wolves had 10 hits in Monday's second game, but a five-run fourth inning and a two-run fifth gave the Sharks enough cushion to withstand a late WOU comeback.
 
WOU scored the first two runs of the game with an Ashlee Lynch RBI double in the first inning and a solo home run from Clark leading off the second.
 
A bases clearing triple highlighted the five-spot in the Sharks' fifth frame and a solo homer sparked HPU to a 7-2 heading into the sixth.
 
Western Oregon answered with back-to-back doubles in the sixth from Kuehl and the RBI variety from Lynch. The Sharks countered with an insurance run with a two-out RBI triple for an 8-3 lead.
 
WOU scratched across three in the seventh frame when Gardner scored on a wild pitch, Huffman crossed home on a Kuehl single and an error on a Clark batted ball later brought in Kuehl. The Wolves had runners on the corners, including the tying run at first, but a grounder to the circle ended the game.
 
Sophomore pitcher Haley Fabian fanned six in 4.1 innings, but allowed seven runs on seven hits. Lynch had three hits pacing the Wolves offensively while Gardner and Kuehl each had two hits.
 
Next Up
The Wolves will head to Waipahu on Wednesday for a doubleheader against Chaminade beginning at 4 p.m. Hawaiian Time.