Stark sinks UH in ninth

• [Photo Gallery] UH vs. UC Santa Barbara

A few glitches delayed the start of senior weekend for the University of Hawaii softball team.

The end of Friday’s series opener didn’t go the way the Rainbow Wahine had hoped either.

UC Santa Barbara catcher Sami Stark’s three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning powered the visiting Gauchos to a 4-1 victory to open UH’s final home series of the season.

UH pitcher Kaia Parnaby struck out 14 and walked none in her return after suffering a broken nose last week. But the Gauchos scratched out two singles in the ninth before Stark, a freshman, broke a 1-1 tie with her second home run of the season.

"It was a good inside pitch and she pushed it to left field," UH coach Bob Coolen said. "They were more aggressive than us. We had, I don’t know how many opportunities we had to win that ballgame. We had runners on, we didn’t get that timely hit, just a lot of different things."

The Wahine (38-11, 15-4 Big West) close their home schedule with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. today looking to end a three-game losing streak. Friday’s loss trimmed UH’s lead atop the Big West standings to two games with second-place Long Beach State opening its series at UC Davis today.

"It’s a new day tomorrow," said Parnaby, one of UH’s five seniors who will be honored after the doubleheader. "It’s senior day tomorrow and we’re not going to give up."

UCSB sophomore Shelby Wisdom celebrated her birthday by holding UH to five hits and earning the complete-game win. Wisdom, who took the loss in UCSB’s meeting with UH early last season, finished with six strikeouts against three walks in her return to Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

"Shelby did a phenomenal job in keeping such a strong lineup off balance," UCSB coach Brie Galicinao said.

"Playing here last year we know what this environment is. The biggest thing is having the team focus on the game and not get caught up in the fun atmosphere here. I’m excited for the team, they played well."

An afternoon downpour in Manoa pushed the start of the game back 30 minutes. When the field was ready, the stadium lights behind the grandstands went out, further delaying the first pitch.

Once the game got started, 50 minutes later than originally scheduled, Parnaby struck out five of the first six batters she faced a week after being hit in the face by a comebacker. Parnaby began the game wearing black tape across her nose with strips also above and down the front, but took it off before going out for the fourth inning.

"I felt fine," Parnaby said. "It’s hard to go back out there after you’ve had such a big blow and you feel a bit hesitant before the game. But once that first batter was done I was fine."

UCSB (29-21, 10-9) took the lead in the third inning when Arianna Palomares punched a two-out single into left field to score Lauren Boser from second.

UH’s Leisha Li‘ili‘i provided the tying run in the fourth with a two-out homer to right center, her 11th of the season.

"I had just told Leisha, ‘Don’t let the riseball get inside,’ and she went out and attacked it," Coolen said.

The score remained tied going into the seventh inning and Parnaby ended UCSB’s half of the inning with her 12th strikeout. Wisdom also ended the seventh with a strikeout to send the game into extra innings.

UCSB put two runners on with infield singles in the top of the ninth and Stark’s liner over the left-field fence gave the Gauchos a 4-1 lead.

"She’d been hitting the ball hard the last couple of weeks and she kept hitting them at people," Galicinao said. "We kept telling her, ‘You’re just making deposits,’ and she got to cash in big in Hawaii."

Shelby Wisdom and Sami Stark. Kaia Parnaby and Kayla Wartner. W—Wisdom. L—Parnaby.

Shortstop signs with Wahine

UH announced the signing of infielder Sarina Jaramillo for the 2014 season on Friday. Jaramillo, a senior shortstop/second baseman at Northview High School in Covina, Calif., is hitting .484 with 22 runs batted in this season after hitting .402 as a junior. She’s a two-time all-district honoree.

Jaramillo is the fifth player to sign for next season, joining California pitchers Brittany Hitchcock and Heather Morales, catcher/third baseman Lindsey Wilmon and Waimea utility player Gaylan "Ulu" Matagiese.

Academic honor for Majam

UH senior Kelly Majam was named to the Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 team on Friday. Majam is the second player in the program’s history to make the team three times. Clare Warwick was the first.

Majam is a secondary education major in health and physical education and will graduate this month. She was also an NFCA scholar-athlete the past three years.