Wahine rally, then hang on for upset

After rallying from an early deficit, the University of Hawaii softball team denied Oregon’s late-inning comeback attempt on Saturday.

The Rainbow Wahine fell behind by four runs in the first inning and scored six unanswered going into the seventh. Oregon pulled within one and put the tying run in scoring position with one out. But a line-out double play sealed UH’s 6-5 upset of the Ducks — ranked seventh and ninth in the national polls — in the Easton Desert Classic in Las Vegas.

"That seventh inning you knew they weren’t going to go down quietly," UH coach Bob Coolen said. "They’re a good team and that was a quality win."

No. 20/23 UH improved to 7-3 with its second win over a Pac-12 team rated higher in the polls.

Oregon jumped out to 4-0 lead in the first inning against UH senior Kaia Parnaby, but the left-hander battled through the rough start and went the distance to earn the complete-game win.

Junior Jazmine Zamora got the start at second base and went 2-for-3 with an RBI single to score UH’s final run. She also snared the line drive to start the game-ending double play.

"It shows we’re starting to come together," Coolen said. "People are hitting the ball and we’re starting to jell."

Oregon went up early on a two-run homer by Kaylan Howard and a two-run double by Alexa Peterson in the top of the first. UH responded with a three-run second inning highlighted by Kelly Majam’s two-run homer.

UH tied the game in the third when Leisha Li‘ili‘i doubled to left field to score Jessica Iwata. Iwata also scored on an Oregon error in the fifth to give UH the lead, and Zamora’s RBI single gave the Wahine a 6-4 edge.

Oregon scored on an error with one out in the seventh, but Zamora, UH’s third baseman, caught a line drive and doubled the runner off second to end the game.

UH closes the tournament with a doubleheader today against Utah Valley and Nevada.