Sharks drops series to Vanguard, but gets back in win column in series finale

There wasn’t much going for the Hawai’i Pacific softball team Tuesday afternoon.

Fortunately, the next day was much better.

After struggling to bring runners home in Tuesday’s PacWest double-header, the Sharks did enough at the plate in a 2-1 win over Vanguard Wednesday afternoon at Sand Island Field.

The win helped HPU (15-30, 9-18) snap a seven-game losing streak ahead of their road trip next week when they will play a pair of three-game series.

It started with the return of Taryn Hirano to the lineup, who missed a third of the season with an injury. The freshman leadoff hitter scored the two runs HPU needed on Wednesday, who reached on a walk in the first and had a single to start the bottom of the third inning.

Sophomore utility Layla Molina was responsible for bringing Hirano home in both innings as she went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. It was a redeeming moment for Molina, who was tagged for the loss coming in for relief in the second game of Tuesday’s contests.

Senior pitcher Taylor Thompson earned her 10th win in the circle on Wednesday, striking out seven in a complete game effort.

The Lions (14-27, 9-16) were limited to just seven hits in the game, a much smaller amount that the 23 total they tallied in two games on Tuesday.

The series started with HPU mustering just three hits in a 6-0 loss as Vanguard took a 2-0 lead off a two-run homer in the top of the first. The Lions padded three more runs in the fourth an another in the sixth.

Sophomore Jade Retuta was a bright spot in game one of the series, batting 2-for-2 for her first multi-hit game of her career.

Jade Retuta gets contact on a pitch in a PacWest game against Vanguard on April 8, 2025. | Photo: Michael Lasquero

Game one was also Hirano’s first game that she appeared in since March 8. She appeared as a pinch hitter in game one before moving up to the leadoff spot in game two.

Hirano started game two with a single to center field in the bottom of the first. After a double by Tiari Hernandez to put runners at the corners, Hirano came home to score thanks to Vanguard right fielding dropping a routine flyout that allowed Jewel Larson to reach.

Marissa Marshall’s first hit since March 15 brought Hernandez home before starting pitcher Maggie O’Dowd’s single to right drove in Larson to give HPU a 3-0 lead.

The Lions battled back to make it a 3-2 game after three innings, but HPU would hold the lead until the sixth. That’s when thing started to unravel for the Sharks.

A two-out double to centerfield tied the game at 3-3 and ended O’Dowd’s day in the circle. Molina got the out to get out of the inning, but three consecutive hits and a beaned batter led to the go-ahead run to score for Vanguard. The Lions scored another run before the inning was over to make it a two-run advantage.

A pinch-hit two-out single by Neva Poulin would be the only offense the Sharks could muster in the bottom of the seventh.