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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, May 6, 2001

Wahine softball team takes two from San Jose

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

Mellow to the final moment, this University of Hawai'i senior softball class transformed the traditional final run around the bases into a walk in the park yesterday.

Desiree Duran, one of four Wahine seniors, pitched a four-hitter for a 1-0 victory.

Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

Tyree Woodruff, Janelle Gonzalez, Desiree Duran and Kristin Anderson set down their lei and blue feather boa and walked hand-in-hand around Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. Moments earlier, they had helped the 46-16 Wahine close their regular season with 1-0 and 7-0 victories over San Jose State — and a 12-game winning streak.

For obvious reasons, the seniors were in no hurry to leave.

"We're just kick-back seniors," Woodruff said. "That's been our motto pretty much. We were just cruising. We wanted to skip, but Kristin wanted to walk, so we just did whatever."

The Wahine, who finished 16-4 in the Western Athletic Conference, now wait. Fresno State (13-3) needs to take 3-of-4 games at last-place Tulsa next weekend to clinch the WAC title and automatic NCAA Tournament berth. The 16th-ranked Bulldogs would win a tiebreaker based on a sweep of third-place Loyola Marymount.

Hawai'i has a shot at its first WAC championship, and a better chance at one of 24 at-large NCAA bids. Either way, it would be the third postseason in four years for the seniors, all four-year starters.

That made yesterday's celebration, before 240 family and friends, much sweeter. This team's longest losing streak is two. It is hitting a WAC-best .285 and its pitchers have six shutouts in their last eight games.

"We set our goals at the beginning of the year and we've pretty much accomplished them," Woodruff said. "Everything is falling into place now. We're hoping to keep going, keep winning."

The Wahine were out-hit in yesterday's opener, but not out-done. Sheri Oronoz's second homer of the season was all Duran (17-4) needed to stay perfect (9-0) in the WAC.

Duran gave up four hits — Hawai'i had but three off Christine Akin — and stranded two runners in three different innings. Twice, she got Spartans to foul out while attempting to bunt, with catcher Michelle Mumaw making a spectacular snag on one.

Duran retired eight straight at one point, and nine of the last 10.

"We relied on Desi a lot and she came through today," UH coach Bob Coolen said. "She was on her game and she got out of some jams. And Sheri cranked that ball out of the ballpark."

Oronoz's homer came on the first pitch of the fourth inning. Hawai'i's only other threat came in the second when Stacey Porter — who had four homers in the previous seven games — hit the ball over the right-field fence, only to have Katie Gomes reach over and grab it.

UH freshman Felicity Witt (22-10) won her fifth straight in a strange second game, stranding 10 Spartans in six innings. Gonzalez pitched the final inning and Duran came in to play left for the final out, giving UH an all-senior outfield.

Offense came from all angles in a nine-batter, three-run second and eight-batter, two-run fifth.

UH contributed four hits in each, including RBI singles from Trisha Ramos, Natalie Gonzales, Anderson and Woodruff. Losing pitcher Sabrina Quintero — much to her chagrin and astonishment — contributed two illegal pitches to score another run in the second, and get her more-chagrined coach ejected.

The umpire ruled Quintero's right foot did not touch the rubber when the ball left her hand.

"I talked to the umpires about Quintero yesterday," Coolen said. "She's a leaper. She's airborne and then she re-plants and goes."

The Spartans (26-39, 5-13 WAC) threatened, but couldn't get a hit or break when they needed it most.

In the second, three singles weren't enough when left fielder Oronoz threw Kirsten Foster out at home. Foster slid wide to avoid Mumaw, who dived to tag Foster before she could crawl back to the plate. Mumaw scored in the fourth when Roxanne Staniorski — trying to grab the ball on the other side of Mumaw — was called for catcher obstruction.

SHORT HOPS: The Spartans have lost 10 in a row to UH. . . . Dee Dee Enabetner, San Jose's first-year coach, came from Bridgewater (Mass.) State, where she was the third-winningest coach in Division II softball. She also coached the Nigerian national team in 1995 and '96. . . . Felicity Witt is the first UH freshman pitcher to win 20 games since Olympian Brooke Wilkins in 1994.