By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
A two-out error in the bottom of the seventh inning allowed the winning run to score as Hawai‘i beat Loyola Marymount, 4-3, last night to complete a Western Athletic Conference season-opening doubleheader softball sweep.
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| Wahine freshman April Crowell rounds the bases following her two-run homer in the first game.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser |
A gathering of 35 at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium also saw the Wahine (12-6, 2-0) win the opener, 6-1, behind a complete-game effort by freshman pitcher Felicity Witt, who also won the second game with two scoreless innings of relief.
"I kind of relied on my adrenaline to take over because I wasn’t really warm," said Witt, referring to the limited time she had to warm-up in the second game.
Witt relieved Desiree Duran, who was lifted after serving a home run to Jaime Lyons in the sixth. Witt retired all six batters she faced, striking out five of them.
In the opener, Witt (8-2) allowed five hits and four walks.
With the game tied at 3 in the second game, the Lions (13-6, 0-2) went to first-game starter Corrianne Rogalsky (8-4) with a runner aboard and no outs in the bottom of the sixth. She retired the next four batters before allowing a one-out single to April Crowell, who was then lifted for pinch-runner Marie Jackson.
After Jackson was forced out at second on Trisha Ramos’ grounder to third, Kate Judd grounded a single just by shortstop Kim Bisset. Ramos never lost stride and made it to third easily.
After Judd stole second, Kristin Anderson hit a grounder off the glove of second baseman Laura Eckley, allowing the winning run to score.
"It was a great run by Trisha," Anderson said. "She set it up to put me in a good position. So it wasn’t me. It was Trisha’s running and she ran it in."
Compounding the situation for Anderson was facing Rogalsky. Anderson was 0-for-2 against her in the first game.
"I was having a hard time with her at the beginning," Anderson said. "I was stressing, trying to do good."
The Wahine built a 3-0 lead for Duran with a lead-off home run by Natalie Gonzales in the first inning, an RBI single by Michelle Mumaw in the fourth and an RBI double by Judd in the fifth.
In the first game, Witt was backed by a two-run first inning home run by Crowell and a three-run third inning that saw runs coming on an error, wild pitch and RBI single by Ramos.
"We went 2 and 2 against them (last year), so it’s good to start strong in our first home game in the WAC," Anderson said.
Last night was the first of six consecutive days of action for the Wahine. They play a nonconference doubleheader against Winthrop at 5 tonight.
Then they play host to the Malihini Tournament, which runs tomorrow through Sunday. There are six teams in the field, including Loyola Marymount and Winthrop.
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