After losing to a former conference rival, the Hawaii softball team bounced back with a win over a Pac-12 opponent to close the Easton Desert Classic on Sunday.
The Rainbow Wahine opened the tournament’s final day with an 11-2 loss in five innings to Nevada. UH then completed its four-day run in Las Vegas by beating Utah 11-7.
The Rainbow Wahine return home on Monday at 7-4 overall after going 4-2 on their first road trip.
"Winning that last game after being annihilated by Nevada was a great turnaround for us," UH coach Bob Coolen said.
UH faced early deficits in all six games, rallying for wins over UTEP and Seattle and coming back from 10 runs down against Portland State on Saturday.
Nevada’s nine-run second inning in UH’s first game on Sunday proved too much to overcome, all of the damage coming with two outs after an error extended the inning.
UH scored on solo home runs by Kristina Akiona and Keiki Carlos, but the Wolf Pack (8-2) added two more runs in the fifth to bring the eight-run rule into effect.
UH fell behind again in the finale when Utah scored three runs in the bottom of the second. But "fortunately we continued to hit the ball and we were seeing the ball," Coolen said.
Alyssa Villalpando’s three-run homer highlighted UH’s four-run third inning. After Utah tied it in the bottom of the third, Sharla Kliebenstein’s RBI double in the fifth gave UH the lead for good.
Leadoff hitter Lindsey Willmon’s second home run of the game — a three-run shot — and Kayla Wartner’s first of the season ignited a six-run UH outburst in the top of the seventh.
Utah (6-4) answered with a three-run homer, but UH sophomore Loie Kesterson closed out a complete game to earn her third win of the tournament. Kesterson (3-2) gave up seven runs on six hits, struck out three and walked two.
"Loie has emerged as our go-to pitcher," Coolen said.
UH hosts the Bank of Hawaii Invitational starting Thursday. The four-day tournament also features North Carolina, San Jose State and Saint Mary’s.
At Las Vegas
| Nevada (8-2) |
090 |
02 |
— |
11 |
9 |
0 |
|
| Hawaii (6-4) |
011 |
00 |
— |
2 |
7 |
1 |
Heather Morales, Loie Kesterson (3), Keiki Carlos (5) and Sharla Kliebenstein. Megan Dortch, McKenna Isenberg (3) and Ashley Butera. W—Isenberg. L—Morales.
Leading hitters—Nevada: Karley Hopkins, 2-4, 2 RBIs; Jasmine Jenkins, 2B, 2 RBIs; Caylin Campbell, 2B, RBI; Sara Parsons, 2-2, 2B RBI; Nikki Orozco, HR, 3 RBIs; Danielle Wiltz, 2-3, RBI.
Hawaii: Keiki Carlos, HR; Leisha Li’ili’i, 2-2; Kristina Akiona, HR.
| Hawaii (7-4) |
004 |
010 |
6 |
— |
11 |
14 |
3 |
| Utah (6-4) |
031 |
000 |
3 |
— |
7 |
6 |
2 |
Loie Kesterson and Sharla Kliebenstein. Kayce Nieto, Sammy Cordova (7) and Shelby Pacheco. W—Kesterson. L—Nieto.
Leading hitters—Hawaii: Lindsey Willmon, 2-5, 2 HR, 4 RBIs; Kayla Wartner, 3-5, HR; Keiki Carlos, 2-5; Alyssa Villalpando, 3-4, 2B, HR; Kliebenstein, 2B, RBI.
Utah: Hannah Flippen HR, 2 RBIs; Kate Dickman, 2B; Marissa Mendenhall, HR, 3 RBIs; Bridget Castro, 2B; Taylor Jordan, RBI.
