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Hawaii pitcher Stephanie Ricketts threw a five-inning no-hitter and the No. 14/17 Rainbow Wahine routed South Dakota State 9-0 today to complete a doubleheader sweep in the Pepsi Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament.
Ricketts, who lost a no-hit bid in the seventh inning of UH’s 1-0 loss to Longwood on Friday, struck out six and walked two in the fourth no-hitter of her career.
Ricketts’ performance followed a four-hit shutout tossed by Rainbow Wahine lefty Kaia Parnaby in a 5-0 win over Miami (Ohio) in UH’s first game of the afternoon.
UH catcher Sharla Kliebenstein hit a three-run homer in the first inning to spark the Wahine offense against Miami (Ohio).
Against South Dakota State, Jenna Rodriguez and Melissa Gonzalez drove in three runs each and the Wahine (18-5) ended the game in the fifth inning due to the mercy rule.
UH, Longwood and Miami (Ohio) all finished the round-robin portion of the tournament at 2-1. Yesterday’s twin shutouts gave UH the top seed in bracket play based on runs allowed, followed by Longwood and Miami (Ohio).
Longwood and Miami (Ohio) play at 10 a.m. Sunday. UH faces SDSU again at noon. The losers of those games meet at 2 p.m. The winners play for the tournament championship at 4.
