Hawai'i beats BYU in opener
By Kyle Sakamoto
Advertiser Staff Writer
University of Hawai'i softball coach Bob Coolen never had a rivalry with BYU when both schools were in the Western Athletic Conference.
After the Rainbows' 7-3 victory over the Cougars in the opening game of the Hawai'i Paradise Classic last night, it sounds like he wants to get one started.
"This is our first-ever meeting with them so this is our storied-rivalry beginning with the BYU Cougars," said Coolen, who is in his 13th year with the Rainbows. "Everyone else has had that storied rivalry with football and basketball."
BYU and seven other schools broke away from the WAC and formed the Mountain West Conference in 1999. The Cougars' program is in its fifth year of existence.
The season opener for both teams was played before 209 last night at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
Hawai'i's Melissa Coogen pitched a seven-hitter with one walk and seven strikeouts.
The junior right-hander received all the support she needed in the first inning when Hawai'i scored four runs on three hits and an error. Denise Dalhberg highlighted the inning with an opposite-field bases-clearing triple down the right-field line.
"Having four runs in the first inning took the pressure off and helped me relax a little bit," Coogen said.
The Rainbows added two more runs in the second on an RBI triple by Tracie Uchima, who scored three batters later on a successful double steal.
Prior to last night's game, BYU had only held practices in an indoor facility because of heavy snow in Provo, Utah.
"To some extent I expected some of this, but not to the degree we fell apart in the first two innings," Cougars coach Gordon Eakin said.
Ianeta Lei, an Iolani School alumnus, broke up Coogen's no-hit bid with a lead-off single up the middle in the fifth.
"My drop curve was probably my best pitch and I was just throwing the (heck) out of it," said Coogen, who threw 73 of her 105 pitches for strikes.
Coogen gave up three runs and six hits over the final two innings, including a two-run homer by ninth-place hitter Debbie Dodds with two outs in the seventh.
"The home run was more of a mental block than being tired," Coogen said. "I just kind of hung it over the plate."
Reach Kyle Sakamoto at ksakamoto@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8041.
