The University of Hawaii softball team breezed past Chaminade, opening the Fall Preseason Classic with a 7-0 win on Thursday at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

Shortstop Nawai Kaupe blasted a three-run home run in the fifth inning to fuel the Hawaii offense, which also got a solo home run from Mikaela Gandia-Mak in the second inning.

Chloe Borges and Brianna Lopez teamed up to shut out the Silverswords. Borges allowed one hit in four innings with four strikeouts before Lopez pitched the final three innings, ceding one hit while striking out three.

Hilo 1 win away from PacWest title

The Hawaii Hilo women’s soccer team beat Hawaii Pacific 5-1 on Thursday in Hilo, moving within one win of clinching the first PacWest title in program history.

With a win over Chaminade on Saturday, Hilo would clinch at least a tie with Point Loma in the PacWest standings. Hilo would win the tiebreaker and automatic NCAA berth by virtue of its win over Point Loma.

Alyssa Padron scored twice for Hilo (11-3, 8-1), which also got goals from Kayla Kunihisa, Filippa Graneld and Daelenn Tokunaga. Marcella Chan had the lone goal for HPU (5-10-1, 4-5-1).

On the men’s side, Hilo defeated HPU 3-0, with goals coming from Devan Yoshimura, Tommy Seaver and Julian Garcia. Hilo (5-7-1, 3-5-1) ended a five-match winning streak for HPU (8-6-2, 6-2-2).

Hawaii Pacific guts out victory

Ella Dotson had a team-high 16 kills, powering the Hawaii Pacific women’s volleyball team to a 25-21, 19-25, 25-23, 17-25, 15-9 win over Azusa Pacific on Thursday at the Shark Tank.

Dotson led five players with double-digit kills for the Sharks (7-19, 6-12 PacWest). Cara McLean directed the offense with 57 assists and 10 digs, while adding six service aces.

Annaka Jorgenson led the Cougars (16-7, 11-4) with a match-high 18 kills, while Kyra Palmbush added 17.