Only rain can stop Fresno State
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
When the sky fell in Manoa yesterday, the University of Hawai'i and Fresno State were re-evaluating the final few weeks of their softball seasons.
After losing the first game of a scheduled doubleheader, 4-1, the Rainbow Wahine (29-20, 10-5 WAC) were downsizing this season's goals and trying to find a way to salvage the final game of their series with the 13th-ranked Bulldogs. It is tentatively scheduled to be played at 2 p.m. today after getting washed out, at 0-0 in the third, yesterday at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
After its 13th consecutive victory, Fresno State (41-13, 12-1) was looking forward to its 21st NCAA Tournament — no team has played as many — and reveling in its hitting revival.
"It hasn't been here," Fresno State coach Margie Wright admitted. "We've got enough to get by. These last two weeks everybody is starting to get comfortable and confident and in control."
With their flight scheduled to leave last night, the Bulldogs were also scrambling to find a way to play today's game. Hawai'i would trade dilemmas in a heartbeat.
Friday, UH hit Fresno ace Jamie Southern hard and still lost, 6-4. Yesterday, it didn't even get a good cut against her until the seventh, when Kate Judd smashed her 11th homer of the season.
By then it was too late. Fresno scored in the first, second, fifth and sixth, with only one run coming in on a hit. The Bulldogs had six hits in their first 11 at-bats, quickly sending UH starter Sheri Oronoz (17-10) to the bench. Freshman Melissa Coogan came in with two runners on and one out in the second. She induced two fly balls and retired her first eight batters.
The Bulldogs finally got to her in the fifth, but it took three hits and an error. The run came after Judd, playing in at short, dove to knock down her second consecutive line drive. Her throw home — from a sitting position — forced catcher Jennifer Tandarich to stretch and she dropped the ball when its arrival coincided with the runner's.
It wouldn't matter. Southern (28-6) pitched a four-hitter, and allowed only one Rainbow as far as second until Judd's blast. She came to Hawai'i with an NCAA-best 0.35 earned run average and one run scored against her in 57¡ innings. Hawai'i pushed the ERA to 0.47, with nothing to show for it.
"The two games yesterday were high points," UH coach Bob Coolen said. "They were see-saw battles and we hit Jamie Southern so we know we can hit a good pitcher.
"We thought we'd go with Sheri today because she was the most rested, but she was very flat, and we just didn't respond at all. I was afraid of a letdown today and that's exactly what happened. Last night we peaked and played hard. There were a lot of emotional plays, everything was tense. There was never a moment in either of those games that you knew you were going to win. Today, when they were up 1-0 in the first inning it was over. It was a totally different sense. I could feel we were out of it."
While Southern returned to form, her teammates remained in a zone that was unknown earlier in the season. They had 11 hits in Friday's first game and 12 in the second — creating consecutive season highs. Yesterday, they had 11, and only Coogan's grace under pressure — she stranded 10 — kept the game interesting.
"I'm very impressed with our team right now," Wright said. "They have played very hard on a difficult trip. They never give up, just keep playing. We've had moments when we haven't done that, so it's really good to see."
In contrast, Hawai'i is feeling the effects of a roster full of underclassmen and the loss of Felicity Witt, who was called back to the Australian national team after winning 22 games last year as a freshman.
"Deep down, everyone is looking over their shoulder wondering who is going to make the first mistake," Coolen said. "You can change the nature of a team by adding one ingredient — a marquee pitcher. Then the whole demeanor of the team changes. We've got the team, we just don't have that pitcher who can go out and throw the 1, 2 or 3-hitter. That's going to be my chore this summer — to see if I can find a marquee pitcher."
SHORT HOPS: Hawai'i does not play at home again until closing its season with WAC doubleheaders against Tulsa May 10-11. ... The second U.S. Cup is scheduled to be played at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium July 1-7. National teams participating will be the U.S., Japan, Australia, China and Canada. ... Jamie Southern is one short of the school's single-season strikeout record. With one strikeout yesterday, Southern has 313.
Fresno State 110 010 1—4 11 1
Hawai'i 000 000 1—1 4 2
Jaime Southern and Pam West. Sheri Oronoz, Melissa Coogan (2) and Jennifer Tandarich. WP—Southern. LP—Oronoz. Leading Hitters: FSU—Pam Perez 3-4; Southern 2-3, double; Julie Selbicky 2-4; West 2-4. UH—Kate Judd homer.
