Courtesy of Hawaii Athletics
HONOLULU—The University of Hawai`i softball team split its games on the second night of the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic. The Rainbow Wahine upset No. 25 DePaul, 8-0 in five innings but fell to No. 4 Oklahoma, 7-0 in the night cap.
Hawai`i 8, DePaul 0 (5 innings)
Box Score (html)
Hawai’i’s Kanani Aina Cabrales fired a two-hit shut-out in her first appearance at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. She did not allow a walk and struck out three. She faced just two batters over the minimum and was efficient, throwing just 56 pitches—36 of which were strikes.
The Rainbow Wahine got things going in the bottom of the first inning posting two runs. Lead off batter Rachel Lack was plunked in the back to start the inning. Kayla Wartner then put down a sacrifice bunt. The pitcher picked it up and fired without looking as there was no one at first base. Both runners advanced into scoring position. Keiki Carlos then hit a grounder to third, but it ricocheted up but the Blue Demons still attempted a play at third. The fielder’s choice scored Lack and allowed everyone to be safe which left runners at the corner. Li`ili`i then laced a single up the middle to drive in Wartner from third to give UH the early 2-0 lead.
Hawai`i added five runs in the third to take a 7-0 lead. The first two runs came off infield ground outs by Li`ili`i and Morales which drove in both Wartner and Carlos respectively. Later Kristina Akiona launched a three-run home run that almost sailed over the high netting in centerfield. It was Akiona’s first homer of the year.
Hawai`i’s Sarina Jaramillo then drove in the game-ending run off a single up the middle that scored Morales from second for the 8-0, five inning win.
Depaul’s Mary Connolly took the loss. She gave up seven runs on two hits with a walk and a strike out in three innings of work. Maxine Rodriguez threw the final 1.2 innings, allowing one run on three hits with two strike outs.
