Wahine softball team swept by Arizona State

Advertiser Staff

The University of Hawai'i softball team's road trip got off to a shaky start as No. 8 Arizona State swept a doubleheader, 3-1 and 5-2, yesterday in Tempe, Ariz.

The Rainbows, losers of three in a row, dropped to 9-8; the Sun Devils improved to 16-4.

In the opener, the Rainbows left 11 runners on base.

"We didn't hit the ball timely," UH coach Bob Coolen said. "We had the first two runners on in the first inning and couldn't do anything. Then we made a two-base error (in the first inning by third baseman April Crowell) and that set the tone for the game right there."

The Rainbows tagged ASU starter Erica Beach (10-2) for nine hits, but managed just a run on an RBI single by Crowell in the third that tied the score at 1. Kirsten Voak pitched two scoreless innings for her first save.

The Sun Devils scored two runs in the bottom of the third to break the tie against UH starter Sheri Oronoz (5-3), who allowed five hits and a walk in six innings.

In the second game, the Rainbows rallied from a 3-0 deficit with two runs in the top of the fourth on home runs by shortstop Kate Judd and catcher Denise Dahlberg.

But Coolen replaced starter Melissa Coogan (3-3) after three innings (seven hits, three runs, one earned) with freshman Shannon Tabion, who surrendered a two-run homer to Beach, the designated hitter.

"Coogan was getting hit, so we made a pitching change," Coolen said. "It just didn't work out."

The Rainbows head for Tucson to play in Arizona's Hillenbrand Invitational Tournament, which runs tomorrow through Sunday. The host Wildcats (18-2) are ranked first in the nation and have a 58-game home winning streak.

Oronoz, Coogan and Tabion will start for UH in the tournament, which also features Evansville, Southern Mississippi, Eastern Michigan and UH nemesis Long Beach State. The 49ers have beaten the Rainbows five times already this season.