FULLERTON – Chey Navarro supplied the power, Kaitlyn Maaske provided clutch pitching, and the Hope International softball team turned a handful of wild defensive plays to sweep Friday's GSAC doubleheader against Park Gilbert by scores of 1-0 and 5-4 at Bastanchury Park.

Maaske tossed a complete game five-hit shutout in game one, leaning on a second inning RBI single from Jocelyn Aguilar as the only run support she would need in her 113-pitch outing.

In game two, Chey Navarro packed the punch with a pair of solo home runs to dead center field, finishing 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBI. The Royals trailed 4-1 before scoring four unanswered runs to pull off the comeback victory. The Royals made three heads up defensive plays in the seventh to quash Park Gilbert's last gasp rally.

Game 1 – Hope International 1, Park Gilbert 0
The Royals took advantage of a second inning Buccaneer error to score the only run of the game.

Dejalei Visesio reached first with one out after the Park Gilbert third baseman misplayed a routine grounder. Karlie Bilbrey singled to put runners at first and second. The Royals had runners at the corners following Breanna Lucero's fielder's choice groundout, which would have been the third out of the inning.

However, Aguilar plated Visesio on a base hit to right field as the Royals scored the unearned run off Park Gilbert pitcher Yaz Bernal.

Maaske encountered a bases loaded situation in the first after giving up two singles and a hit by pitch. But she struck out Anna Chavez looking to wiggle out of the jam. From there, she settled into a groove, retiring seven straight before a Bri Titus single to lead off the fourth.

The right-hander set down six consecutive Buccaneers before Dionna Leanio led off the sixth with a bunt single. Noelle Gumm followed with a single. But Maaske got Titus to ground into a 4-6-3 double play, and popped up Lizzy Aguilar to keep the Buccaneers scoreless.

In the seventh, Maaske drilled Amaya Ruiz with two outs, but fanned pinch hitter Rebekka Nance to end the game. 

Maaske improved to 10-7 on the year, allowing just five hits, walking none and striking out five.

Bernal fell to 7-8 after yielding just the one unearned run in 6.0 innings. She retired 11 out of 12 Royals batters at one point.

Game 2 – Hope International 5, Park Gilbert 4
Park Gilbert came out aggressively at the plate, loading the bases with no outs in the first against Bilbrey. But the right-hander got a groundout, pop out and strike out to escape the jam.

The Buccaneers loaded the bases with no outs again in the second, and this time capitalized. Ari Fjeldsted brought in the first run on a sacrifice fly, and Madi Lackey scored the second after a fielding error by the HIU first baseman. Gumm's base hit scored Kayla Seto for the third run.

Navarro led off the bottom half with a line drive home run over the center field fence off Samara Romero to cut the deficit to 3-1.

Park Gilbert got the run back in the third on Fjeldsted's RBI single.

Grace Jump replaced Romero after just two innings, and retired HIU in order in the third.

But the Royals attacked Jump in the fourth as five straight batters got on base. With runners on second and third, Aliyah Sandoval singled home Visesio to trim the deficit to 4-2. A hard hit ground ball by Natalie Corrales could not be fielded and that brought home Navarro.

HIU loaded the bases, and Vivian Little tied the score with a deep fly to center, plating Sandoval on the sacrifice fly.

Navarro posted her first career multi-homer game, hitting another shot over the center field wall with two outs in the fifth and giving HIU the 5-4 lead.

Meanwhile, Bilbrey settled down, getting seven of the next eight Buccaneers out. HIU committed an error to allow Leanio to get aboard to lead off the sixth. She stole second, and Titus walked to put two runners on base. Madi Ban pinch ran for Titus. Lizzy Aguilar lined out to Navarro, and the shortstop fired a throw to first to double off Ban, who had wandered too far off the base.

In the seventh, Anna Chavez doubled down the left field line against Bilbrey, who was replaced by Maaske. 

The Royals used their defensive chops to finish out the game. Nance hit a grounder to Lily Hernandez, who nabbed Chavez at third on a bang bang play.

With Nance on first, Lackey tested Hernandez again at second. She scooped up the grounder and tried to start a double play with a throw to second, but it went wide of Navarro and squirted into left field. Gabriela Holmes alertly got to the ball and fired to Sandoval at third. 

Fortunately for HIU, Nance stumbled between second and third, and was tagged out by Sandoval as she attempted to go back to second. In one fell swoop, Sandoval raced to the second base bag and tagged out Lackey, who just missed getting to the base safely.

Maaske logged her second save after throwing just two pitches. Bilbrey earned the win to improve to 3-2, allowing 10 hits and four runs (three earned) in a gutsy performance.

Jump took the loss to fall to 4-7 after surrendering four runs in 3.0 innings.

The Royals improved to 20-14 overall and took over sole possession of fourth place in the GSAC with a 7-7 record.

HIU hosts Park Gilbert on Saturday for another noon doubleheader.