74
Oregon pitcher Cheridan Hawkins tossed a two-hit shutout in the Ducks’ 3-0 win over the University of Hawaii softball team on Saturday in a semifinal game in the Pepsi Rainbow Wahine Classic.
Hawkins struck out 11 and walked none and Oregon advanced to the tournament championship game set for 3 p.m.
UH closed the tournament at 2-4 and 13-14 overall. UH sophomore Loie Kesterson struck out three, walked one and allowed six hits in a game that took 93 minutes.
Oregon scored the game’s first run on Janelle Lindvall’s two-out single on a two-strike pitch in the bottom of the first.
Kesterson held the Ducks to one hit over the next 3 1/3 innings before Koral Costa singled in the bottom of the fifth. Nikki Udria drew a two-out walk and Courtney Ceo looped a single into shallow left field. The throw to the plate hit off Costa’s helmet and ricocheted toward the Oregon dugout and Urdria came to score the Ducks’ third run.
Hawkins retired the first 14 batters she faced, 10 on strikeouts, before Sharla Kliebenstein broke up the perfect game with a single into left field with two out in the top of the fifth.
Hawkins had faced just one batter over the minimum until Leisha Li’ili’i doubled to right with two out in the seventh. Hawkins then got a flyout to close out her eighth shutout of the season.
