TEMPE, Ariz. — It's good to be away from home. At least that's the way Hawai'i softball coach Bob Coolen saw it.

"It's great to play in the desert," Coolen said. "At home, it's tough to hit home runs. Here, the ball flies off the bat."

Hawai'i hit three home runs, its most important Kate Robinson's record-breaker in the last inning, to beat No. 25 Mississippi State, 9-7, yesterday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Arizona State University.

The win moves Hawai'i (39-19) into today's 11 a.m. (Hawai'i time) game against No. 2 Arizona State, which defeated Stony Brook, 2-0, in yesterday's nightcap.

"By getting this win, it releases a lot of pressure off our pitchers," UH center fielder Kaulana Gould said. "Just starting off on a positive note is a great thing. I think now is a good time to peak."

After Mississippi State (40-21) overcame a two-run deficit to take a 7-6 lead in the sixth inning, prompting Coolen to lift starter Robinson for reliever Jessica Morton, Hawai'i responded in its final inning. Robinson led off the seventh with her UH single-season record-breaking 20th home run to center to knot the score at 7-7.

Richie-Anne Titcomb's run-scoring single up the middle broke the tie, and Tanisha Milca's RBI double to center added an insurance run.

"Each team was hitting a lot today," Robinson said. "For me, I was overly excited for this game. (In the seventh), we needed a big hit."

Trailing 4-1, the Rainbow Wahine broke out for four runs in the top of the fourth to go ahead 5-4. Valana Manuma cranked a two-run home run to left, and Gould ripped a two-run double off the wall in right-center to put Hawai'i ahead. It was Manuma's second homer of the season.

The Rainbows added a run in the sixth on Gould's infield single to make it 6-4.

With two outs in the second, Titcomb belted the first pitch she saw over the left-field fence to tie the score 1-1. It was her fourth home run of the year.

"I was really relaxed today," said Titcomb, who went 3 for 4 with two RBIs. "I think it was the heat. We're really pumped up. Now that we're here, we want it bad."

Gould went 2 for 4 with three RBIs, and Milca was 2 for 4 as the Rainbow Wahine rapped 13 hits.

"We've been waiting for those bats to come along all year long," Coolen said. "Recently, we saw some glimpses of that. Today, we put it all together."

Mississippi State scored the game's first run in the bottom of the first on Courtney Bures' sacrifice fly to shallow right field. The Bulldogs took a 2-1 lead in the second when Sammie Jo Bailey led off with a homer to left-center.

Mississippi State extended its lead to 4-1 in the third, scoring twice on four hits and an error. Ali Bainbridge's RBI single to left field made it 3-1, and Jessie Bailey's two-out single up the middle made it 4-1.

Bainbridge was 3 for 4 with two RBIs, Chelsey Bramlett was 3 for 5, and Nakita Boyce, Hayle Guess and Courtney Nesbit each were 2 for 3 for the Bulldogs, who amassed 16 hits.