On a wet and slippery night, Hawai'i held on for a 1-0 softball victory over San Jose State.

Kate Robinson (13-3) pitched a six-hitter for her seventh shutout of the season. She drove in the game's only run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning to keep the Rainbow Wahine in first place in the Western Athletic Conference.

They are 29-11 overall and 5-1 in the WAC.

The Spartans fell to 21-23 and 3-4.

The teams meet in a 2 p.m. doubleheader today at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

In the first inning, Kaulana Gould lined an opposite-field double to left-center, then advanced to third on Clare Warwick's single to right. Robinson followed with a run-scoring flyout to deep center.

"Hitting it deep is one of the basic ways to score a run with less than two outs," Robinson said. "It's good that we got that run."

That proved to be enough against the Spartans, who had scored 31 runs in their previous three games.

Last night, the Spartans stranded six runners, three in scoring position.

"It was a matter of keeping them where they were, not letting them get any further," Robinson said.

With a Spartan on third and two outs in the fourth, left-fielder Brandi Peiler chased down a long drive.

In the sixth, the Spartans opened with consecutive singles. Kelli Fangonilo hit a shot that Peiler caught on the run. Peiler's strong throw to the infield prevented the runners from advancing.

Cleanup hitter Brittany McConnell then smashed a liner to third that Warwick caught.

"Those are the good ones," Warwick said of the lineout. "Those are the ones you don't have to think about."

Robinson induced a groundout to end the threat.

"The defense did great," Robinson said. "They made some great catches, some big plays. Those all could have been potential hits."

Robinson, who is a finalist for a national player of the year award, was not expected to be the pitching ace this season. But in January, the Rainbows learned that right-handed pitcher Justine Smethurst decided to remain in Australia to try out for that country's national team. This week, Smethurst was told she made Australia's Olympic team.

Courtney Baughman, who overcame a variety of injuries, had assumed the No. 1 role in the rotation. While Baughman is adding to single-season personal bests in innings and victories, the Rainbows have played better defensively when Robinson is on the mound. UH coach Bob Coolen decided that Robinson should start in the opener of the three-game series. Baughman and Robinson will pitch in today's doubleheader.

"Kate has a presence on the mound," Coolen said. "We play so much different when she's on the mound. That's something you can't really teach a team. They have to play that way every time somebody pitches, but it doesn't always happen. With Kate, we have a different demeanor, that we're going to make every play."

Robinson was able to overcome the wet conditions.

"The ball was wet," Robinson said. "It would go to the outfield and get wet. I would trade it in, and (the umpire would) give it back to me wet. I said, 'OK, I'll dry it myself.' "

In the second inning, Coolen went to the mound to give Robinson a rosin bag to keep her fingers dry.

"The grip is so much different (in softball)," Coolen said. "(A softball) has so much surface on it. It's different than a baseball."

After that, Robinson had command of a wide menu of pitches. She found success with a riser and change-up.

"I felt I was throwing hard," she said. "My change-up was working. I got a couple of full counts, but I was able to throw strikes and get out of it."

Coolen said: "Kate just rose to the occasion. It was a masterful game."

See Tsai's blog at www.warriorbeat.honadvblogs.com.