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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, February 7, 2009

UH drops tournament games to UAB, LSU

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

After starting the tournament by beating No. 6 Oklahoma, Hawai'i was literally caught off guard last night, losing to Alabama-Birmingham, 2-0, and then to No. 19 Louisiana State, 6-5, on the second day of the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic.

The Rainbow Wahine (1-2) will face Oklahoma (2-1) at noon today, while UAB (1-2) will take on LSU (2-1) at 10 a.m. at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

Regardless of LSU's outcome, it will play the 2 p.m. game for either the tournament championship or third place because the Tigers have a flight tonight. The last game is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Earlier in the day, Oklahoma beat UAB, 18-0, and LSU, 8-0, with both being halted after five innings because of the eight-run differential mercy rule. The early finishes threw off the Rainbows.

"We weren't ready for the first game," UH coach Bob Coolen said. "We didn't warm up in time. With the run-rule happening, we were scrambling to get ready. We didn't warm up enough to play that game."

So freshman right-hander Lindsey Croft pitched a one-hitter to give the Blazers their first win of the tournament and the season.

"She came up to us inside," Coolen said of Croft. "That's what our problem was. We never made the adjustment to the inside pitch. When you get one-hit after the adrenaline out of our system from last night (UH's 8-5 win against Oklahoma), that's what's going to happen."

Croft (1-1) walked three and struck out eight. Only once she allowed more than one base runner in an inning, when she walked Tanisha Milca and Malamaisaua Manuma back-to-back with two outs in the third.

The Blazers got their only runs in a two-run third against Hawai'i starter Melissa Gonzalez (0-1), who allowed two runs and four hits, while striking out three.

With one out, Martina Landrum reached on a bunt single near home and scored on Cameron Skates' double to left. Skates took third on the throw home and after Andrea Rogers struck out, scored on Kayla Orr's ground single to center. Gonzalez retired the last 13 batters she faced, but the damage was done.

Hawai'i's only threat came in the fifth when Milca flied to deep center with a runner aboard, but Landrum made the catch against the fence.

In the nightcap, the Tigers jumped on UH starter Courtney Baughman (1-1) for three runs in the first inning capped by freshman Juliana Santos' two-run home run to center.

The Tigers made it 4-0 in the second when Kirsten Shortridge singled, stole second, took third on catcher Katie Grimes' throwing error and scored when center fielder Mikalemi Tagab-Cruz misplayed the overthrown ball.

Hawai'i pulled to 4-2 with unearned runs in the fourth and fifth innings. But LSU got insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth on Rachel Mitchell's RBI double that chased Baughman from the game and a wild pitch by freshman Stephanie Ricketts. That cushion was the difference to negate Gonzalez's three-run home run to left-center with one out that pulled UH to within one.

But LSU starter Casey Faile (1-1) struck out Manuma and got Audrey Andrade to ground out to third to end the game.

Today's games will serve as tests for the UH players.

"We were doubting ourselves," Coolen said. "A lot of players — upper classmen that I had in the lineup who weren't doing anything, so we moved them around — we just wanted to see who wants to play, who's aggressive.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.