Wahine softball team beats Texas-Arlington, 8-2

By Kyle Sakamoto
Advertiser Staff Writer

It took a while for the University of Hawai'i's bats to heat up, but once they did, there was no cooling them off.

Hawai'i's Kate Judd high fives her teammates after hitting a solo homer against Texas-Arlington in the first inning. Hawai'i beat Texas-Arlington, 8-2, on the second day of the Chevron Paradise Classic. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

In the top of the sixth, Stacie Porter led off with a single to left. After Trisha Ramos popped out to shortstop, April Crowell lifted a fly ball to left-center. Center fielder Melanie Williams reached up to make the catch, but the ball bounced off her glove for a double.

Stacie Hirano, Jennifer Tandarich and Natalie Gonzales followed with run-scoring singles.

"That was the turning point, she should have made that catch and normally does," Texas-Arlington coach Debbie Nichols-Hedrick said of the hit Williams couldn't come up with. "It hit her glove and bounced out and that's when things started to go downhill."

Hirano highlighted the four-run seventh with a bases-clearing double to left. Marie Jackson drove her in with a double to center, which once again bounced off the glove of Williams.

The Wahine had nine hits, including three doubles, in the final two innings.

Hawai'i's Sheri Oronoz and Melissa Coogan combined on a five-hitter.

Oronoz allowed two hits, four walks and one run over 5¡ innings. She left in the sixth after loading the bases with one out.

Coogan gave up three hits and a run in 1á innings.

"Two things affected (Oronoz): the length of the inning we had and also her nerves," Hawai'i coach Bob Coolen said. "She got a little nervous on the mound and she wasn't going after the hitters. She was aiming the ball."

Coogan ended the threat by getting Mindy Molinar to ground to second baseman Natalie Gonzales, who threw home for the force, and Stephanie Owens to fly out to right fielder Justina Kahaku, who made a sliding catch on a ball hit in front of her. Kahaku entered as a defensive replacement to start the inning.

"She has started to pitch real well for us right now," Coolen said of Coogan. "She at first struggled a little bit, tried to blow it by the Long Beach State players when we played them, then tried to blow it by the Riverside players when we played them. It just didn't work for her. Then we started moving her ball around a bit."

Oronoz and Lady Mavericks' starter Katy Cox were involved in a pitchers' duel through the first five innings, with the score tied at 1.

Kate Judd put the Wahine on the board with a solo homer to left in the first inning.

Oronoz faced the minimum through the first three innings, but gave up an RBI single to right by Sherri Wardlow after a walk and sacrifice bunt.

The Wahine batted 7-for-11 with seven RBIs with runners in scoring position, while the Lady Mavericks went just 2-for-8 with two RBIs.

"We're not hitting the ball very well," Nichols-Hedrick said. "I think it's more us. We're not putting the ball in play enough."

Hawai'i, which was playing in its first home game, improved to 6-3. Texas-Arlington dropped to 5-7.

In the earlier game, Long Beach State beat Mercer, 3-0.