The Hawaii softball team avenged a tight loss to Longwood last Friday by edging the Lancers 3-2 tonight at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
A throwing error on Dara Pagaduan’s ground ball to second base with two out in the bottom of the seventh allowed Jasey Jensen to score the winning run.
UH first baseman Sarah Robinson celebrated her birthday by setting up the game’s decisive run with a one-out triple to right field. Jensen pinch ran for Robinson and after a strikeout, Pagaduan’s grounder to the right side was bobbled then thrown away to end the game.
UH sophomore Kaia Parnaby struck out five over three innings and earned the win in relief of starter Stephanie Ricketts. Parnaby retired the last nine hitters she faced.
UH lost to Longwood 1-0 on Friday and broke through against Lancers ace Briana Wells with two runs in the bottom of the third.
After Wells intentionally walked Jessica Iwata to put runners on first and second with two out, Alex Aguirre hit a sharp single up the middle. The ball got past the center fielder and rolled to the fence, allowing Brynne Buchanan and Iwata to score.
Longwood (14-6) responded in the top of the fifth when leadoff hitter Nichole Simmons drilled an RBI single to center and Brooke Short’s bases-loaded ground out to shortstop was enough to score the tying run.
Wells, who shutout UH in a 1-0 win last Friday, limited the Wahine to one hit through 6 1/3 innings before Robinson lifted a fly ball over the head of the right fielder for the first triple of her career.
“I’d been seeing the ball, but I hadn’t gotten a solid hit. My last at-bat I was like, ‘no way I’m striking out on my birthday,’ ” Robinson said. “The pitch before that I just fouled off. The next one was the same pitch and I just drove through it.”
UH (21-5) next plays Cleveland State in the Chevron Spring Fling Tournament on Wednesday at 6 p.m. BYU, California and Iona are also entered in the tournament, which runs through Saturday.