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The University of Hawaii softball team swept tonight’s doubleheader in the Pepsi Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament with an 8-3 win over Portland State and an 8-0 victory against East Carolina.
UH senior Kaia Parnaby earned complete-game wins in both games and the No. 21/24 Rainbow Wahine improved to 16-5.
As in UH’s 7-0 win over Portland State on Friday, the Rainbow Wahine offense struck early with a run in the first and three more in the second in the rematch with the Vikings.
Jessica Iwata gave UH the lead with an RBI double to left center in the bottom of the first. Kiani Wong scored on a wild pitch with two out in the second and Leisha Li’ili’i lined a two-run single into right with the bases loaded to stretch the lead to 4-0.
Parnaby tied the UH single-game record with 15 strikeouts in a two-hit shutout against Portland State on Friday and kept the Vikings scoreless into the fourth inning of today’s game.
Parnaby gave up a double with one out in the top of the first inning then retired the next 10 Portland State hitters in order. Brittany Hendrickson broke the string with a two-out single in the fourth inning. Lauran Bliss followed with a two-run homer to left to end Parnaby’s run of 19 2/3 scoreless innings dating back to last weekend.
UH loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth and Kayla Wartner cleared them with a triple down the right-field line to give UH a 7-2 lead. Pinch-runner Jordan Burton then scored on Iwata’s ground out to second.
Portland State scored in the sixth on Brittany Hendrickson’s RBI double. But the Vikings would get no closer.
In tonight’s second game, the Wahine scored three runs in the bottom of the first and hit three home runs in the fifth against East Carolina.
Li’ili’i came up with the bases loaded and drilled single into center to score Wartner and Keiki Carlos. The throw to the plate got away from the catcher allowing Iwata to score the third run.
The Wahine pulled away with three home runs in the fifth. Kelly Majam led off the inning with a blast to right field for her team-leading seventh homer of the season. After a pitching change, Wartner nailed a shot to center. Iwata drew a walk and Li’ili’i drilled a line drive that cleared the fence by about a foot to extend the lead to 7-0.
The Wahine ended the game in the sixth when Wong scored on a double steal to bring the eight-run rule into effect.
The tournament concludes on Sunday with UH facing Portland State at 2 p.m. and East Carolina at 4.
