HONOLULU, Hawaii – Chelsea Smith finishes the Hawaii road trip with three wins after leading the Western Oregon University softball team to a 4-1 win in the opener against Chaminade on Monday. The Silverswords then came back to claim the 3-0 win in the nightcap to split the series as WOU finishes the trip going 3-3 in Hawaii.
Smith went another six innings in the opener to improve to 6-0 on the season. She allowed just one earned run and tallied three strikeouts. Erica Soliz came on in relief and pitched a scoreless seventh to get the save.
Over the three games in Hawaii, Smith went 3-0 allowing just four earned runs in 21 innings. She tallied 14 strikeouts and issues just five free passes.
Early on in game one, the offense was rolling. Natalie Willoughby jumped WOU (10-5) out to the early lead connecting on a two-run homer in the first inning. She drove home Maddie Doig who singled earlier in the inning.
Chaminade (2-2) came back with a run in the home half and that would be it for the first game.
The Wolves added insurance in the fourth. Willoughby walked to open the inning and then moved to second on a single by Soliz down the right field line. Kirah McGlothan stepped up and laid down a perfectly placed bunt single to load the bases. After a double play recorded two outs, Sophie Franklin came through with a clutch hit, singling up the middle to score two runs and move the lead to 4-1.
Smith worked out of a jam in the fifth. With two runners on via singles, Smith tallied an infield flyout to shortstop and then picked up a strikeout to end the threat. Soliz then closed the game out getting a flyout, strikeout and groundout in the seventh.
WOU held an 8-5 edge in hits and committed the only error in the game. Doig, Soliz and Franklin all had two hits to lead the Wolves. Franklin and Willoughby added two RBI each for WOU.
Jaeda Cabunoc led Chaminade with two hits and Malia Moisa had the only RBI. In the circle, Cabunoc started and went all seven innings, allowing four earned runs to end up with the loss (1-1).
In the second game, the Silverswords started early and held off the Wolves for the 3-0 win. After WOU threatened in the first getting two runners on but didn't score, Chaminade scored all of the runs in the game in the home half of the inning. The Silverswords picked up two runs on a double and later an error brought in the third run to give Chaminade a 3-0 lead after one.
WOU had two on in the second inning, but a flyout and groundout ended the inning. In the fourth, singles by Kate Ronning and Bella Valdes had WOU threatening with two outs before a groundout ended the inning.
The Wolves then put the heat on one last time in the seventh. After two outs were recorded, Logan Carlos and Doig each singled. A flyout, though, followed to end the game with Chaminade taking the 3-0 victory to split the doubleheader.
WOU held a 7-5 edge in hits and each team committed an error. Doig went 3-4 and Ronning added two hits to lead the Wolves. In the circle, Reilly Tidwell started and tossed all six innings to end up with the loss (1-2) allowing the three runs and added four strikeouts.
Five players had a hit each to lead the Silverswords. In the circle, Taylor Genera tossed all seven innings to get the win (1-0) allowing nine baserunners, but no runs and added two strikeouts.
WOU now returns home to host Montana State Billings this weekend for a pair of doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday starting at 11 a.m. each day. The teams will play again in Monmouth on Mar. 19-20 and those games will count as GNAC contests.
