Using the 1-2 combination of power and speed, Georgia produced a 9-6 softball victory yesterday, ousting Hawai'i from title contention in the Pepsi Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament.

Earlier yesterday, Kanani Warren's two-run double lifted the Rainbow Wahine to a 2-0 victory over Kent State. But the 24th-ranked Rainbows' title hopes ended when they suffered their second loss in two days against No. 21 Georgia.

UH will play in the third-place game at noon today.

Against a Southeastern Conference team, UH coach Bob Coolen said, "you can never let down. You can never make a mistake. You can never pitch a person the same way twice. If you do, they can adjust really quick. ... We made a lot of mistakes."

That proved costly against an opponent whose Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 9 batters can race to first in 2.7 seconds. UH has only one person, Kaulana Gould, who can cover the 60-foot distance in under 3 seconds.

In a five-run second, the Bulldogs scored two runs on consecutive fielder's-choice plays. On one, Gould failed to make the tag after forgetting there was no force at home. On the second, first baseman Tyleen Tausaga flicked the ball wide of the plate after fielding a dribbler down the baseline.

"I rushed myself," Tausaga said. "I saw the runner, and I tried to get it there."

Tausaga made up for it with towering grand slam in the third, cutting the deficit to 5-4.

But Christie Hamilton hit an RBI double in Georgia's three-run fifth, and Megan McAllister powered a bases-empty homer in the sixth.

In the first game against Kent State, Kate Robinson hit a two-out single in the sixth, and the next batter, Brandi Peiler, was struck by a pitch. Warren followed with a two-run double to left-center.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.