Wahine blast way to tournament title

Through its first three games, the University of Hawaii softball team managed to pull away from opponents in the late innings.

The Rainbow Wahine got their offense rolling a lot earlier in wins over Seattle and DePaul on Saturday.

In the first innings of their final two games of the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic, the Wahine sent a combined 25 hitters to the plate and scored 16 runs on 15 hits on their way to a 21-0 rout of Seattle and a 9-2 victory over DePaul.

UH had scored one run in the first inning through the first two days of the tournament, then rode its early offense — 10 runs against Seattle and six against DePaul — to the title.

"It’s something we talked about, that last year we waited and a pitcher would get into their groove and we’d be chasing bad balls," UH coach Bob Coolen said.

"This year we talked a lot during the fall about being aggressive, being aggressive in practice, being aggressive in the scrimmages. … We had to keep the aggressive ability in the first inning and put some runs up so our pitchers didn’t think they had to throw no-hitters and one hitters."

The early outbursts took the pressure off UH pitchers Kaia Parnaby and Stephanie Ricketts, who completed a

5-0 run through the tournament. Parnaby (2-0) struck out eight and gave up three hits in the five-inning win over Seattle. Ricketts (3-0) finished with nine strikeouts in her second complete-game win over DePaul in as many days and was named the tournament’s most valuable pitcher.

Offensively, UH shortstop Jessica Iwata went 5-for-6 in the doubleheader, drove in seven runs and hit her first home run of the season in the second inning of the tournament final.

"We were ready to hit today, and once we started to hit in the top of the lineup everything fell into place," Iwata said.

Where most of Iwata’s previous 33 homers in her career went to left and center field, her first of 2012 cleared the fence in right-center, a product of a preseason emphasis in practice.

"I’ve been working a lot on the outside pitches because I knew it was going to come and I guess it paid off," she said.

Senior second baseman Dara Pagaduan also continued her hot start by going 5-for-6 with three doubles and four RBIs on Saturday. Sarah Robinson hit .471 in the tournament and was named the most valuable player.

UH began the afternoon by scoring 10 runs on 10 hits in the first inning in the rout of Seattle and eventually recorded its highest run total since setting a single-game record of 25 against Grambling on March 27, 2006.

In the finale, Pagaduan’s two-run double capped a six-run first-inning rally against DePaul starter Kirsten Verdun, who hadn’t given up a run and struck out 14 over 10 innings in her two previous appearances in the tournament.

UH concludes its season-opening homestand on Monday with a single game against UMKC at 6 p.m.

Sports Extras » Wahine Softball Photos