There was something different about this seventh inning for Stephanie Ricketts.

She’s gone into the late innings without having given up a hit several times in her four years as the ace of Hawaii’s pitching staff, and each time she blocked out the scoreboard as she went into the circle.

Except on Saturday.

“For the first time it was in my mind,” Ricketts said. “This time I was like, ‘This is my last chance to get one on this field.’ ”

Ricketts indeed got the next three outs to secure the no-hitter in her final appearance at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium as Hawaii completed the program’s first-ever series sweep of rival Fresno State with a 2-0 win in the finale.

“For Steph to go out and throw a no-hitter, you couldn’t have asked for anything better,” UH head coach Bob Coolen said.

Ricketts’ gem followed Kaia Parnaby’s 11-inning shutout performance in UH’s

1-0 victory in the first game of Saturday’s senior day doubleheader before a standing-room-only crowd.

UH pulled out the win in the first game on catcher Kayla Wartner’s home run in the bottom of the 11th and the freshman provided the decisive blow again in the second game with a third-inning homer.

“Everyone had told me it’s a big rivalry with them and they told me you’ll just see the seniors and you’ll feed off of them,” Wartner said, “and it really was true — they were so pumped.”

With the sweep, No. 14/17 UH improved to 40-5 overall and 14-3 in Western Athletic Conference play and will enter the final week of the regular season protecting a lead over second-place Brigham Young (35-13, 12-4).

UH closes the regular season with a series at Utah State starting Saturday before heading to the WAC tournament, set for May 9-12 in Las Cruces, N.M.

Fresno State (31-20, 11-5) began the week atop the standings and fell to third after being shut out for the final 20 innings of its final regular-season series with UH as WAC members. UH heads to the Big West next season, and Fresno State joins the Mountain West.

After UH stormed to an 11-3 win in Friday’s series opener, neither team could muster much offense on Saturday.

Parnaby and Fresno State senior Michelle Moses traded zeroes through 10 innings, with Moses holding UH without a hit through 7 2⁄3 innings.

“I thought it was a never-ending game,” said Parnaby, who finished with 10 strikeouts. “It just kept going and I was in a rhythm. I felt good from the word go today and the field really backed me up, making some great plays.”

The dual shutouts held until Wartner launched Moses’ 140th pitch of the game out to left field for an opposite-field home run to clinch UH’s third series win over Fresno State over the past four years.

“I’ve been struggling for a while and I just wanted to make contact and get something going,” said Wartner, who also called all 228 pitches Parnaby and Ricketts threw as the duo combined for 18 scoreless innings on the day. “I knew she was pitching me outside — she had all game — and I was just trying to adjust to it and finally I did.”

After Wartner gave UH the lead in the finale with her second homer of the day, senior left fielder Alex Aguirre capped the scoring in the sixth inning by hitting a home run in her final plate appearance at home.

“It meant everything,” Aguirre said. “Every time I stepped into the box that at-bat I knew this could be the last pitch, and I wanted to make sure it counted and every swing it was everything I had. For it to go over the fence was a big deal.”

Aguirre ended the top of the sixth with a diving catch to preserve the no-hitter for Ricketts, who took care of the rest by retiring Fresno State in order in the seventh to close out her second no-hitter of the season and sixth of her career.

She also became UH’s all-time leader in shutouts with the 33rd of her career, passing Brooke Wilkins for the record.

“Normally when we win games I try to act like I’ve done it before and I try not to smile,” Ricketts said. “That one, I couldn’t help it.

“It really has sunk in that I won’t be playing here any more. It’s really sad, but if it has to come to an end, for it to come to an end like this is perfect.”

At Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium

HAWAII 1, FRESNO ST. 0, 11 INN.

Michelle Moses and Kaitlin Griffin. Kaia Parnaby and Kayla Wartner.
W—Parnaby. L—Moses.
Leading hitters—Hawaii: Wartner, HR; Makani Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu, 2B.

HAWAII 2, FRESNO ST. 0

Mackenzie Oakes and Kaitlin Griffin. Stephanie Ricketts and Kayla Wartner.
W—Ricketts. L—Oakes.
Leading hitters—Hawaii: Wartner, HR; Sarah Robinson, 2-3; Alex Aguirre, HR; Dara Pagaduan, 2-3.