Box Score TURLOCK — Unable to hold off a swing-happy Hawaii Pacific team, the Cal State Stanislaus softball team suffered another close-game lost on Thursday.

In the single game as the final tune-up for the upcoming 24-team Tournament of Champions here in Turlock, the Warriors lost to Hawaii Pacific, 7-5, in a non-conference game.

The Warriors held a 4-3 lead by capitalizing on four HPU errors in the second inning before falling to 10-28 overall for their 13th consecutive set-back. They will hope to end the skid on Friday as the Warriors take on Simon Fraser to start the tournament. Simon Fraser enters the event 2-21.

Thursday's game, which was a postponement from Wednesday's scheduled doubleheader, started out with HPU getting three runs in its first two innings for a 3-0 lead. But the Warriors utilized four Sea Warriors errors in the second to score four times without a hit.

A leadoff walk by Brittney Rickles started the rally — and three bunts (where HPU failed to field any successfully), a wild pitch and two fielding errors by the HPU middle infielders later, the Warriors held a 4-3 lead.

But HPU (14-15) would score two runs to regain the lead and eventually the win.

HPU scattered 11 hits and was led by Sharae Esprecion who went 4-for-4. She was a home run away from hitting for the cycle and also drove in two runs. Kayla Sanchez went 3-for-3 and Keila Elderts went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Natalie Winters led Stanislaus with two runs batted in and Cierrah Mullins tripled in her pinch-hit at-bat in the seventh. Mullins scored on an infield hit by Winters.

The Tournament of Champions presented by the Turlock Convention & Visitors Bureau begins at 8 a.m. on Friday at both Pedretti Sports Complex and Turlock Regional Sports Complex. The tournament features 24 teams from the West Region playing in a total of 76 games through Sunday.