UCLA stops Rainbow Wahine in final

Playing four games in less than 24 hours left the University of Hawaii softball team with a runner-up finish in the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic and some valuable experience to take into its first road trip of the season.

A little more than nine hours after the final out of an extra-inning loss to UCLA that ended well past midnight, the Rainbow Wahine were back on the field at 10 a.m. Saturday.

"We probably got four or five hours of sleep if we were lucky," UH pitcher Heather Morales said of the turnaround after the UCLA game, which started at 10:30 Friday night and ended at 12:45 a.m. Saturday.

After routing Hampton 9-1 in five innings behind two home runs by Leisha Li‘ili‘i and Morales’ four no-hit innings, some of the Wahine had time for a quick nap before returning for a rematch with UCLA in the tournament championship.

In another tight duel, 16th-ranked UCLA pulled ahead with a three-run fifth-inning rally on its way to a 4-1 win to finish the weekend at 5-0 and claim the tournament title.

UH coach Bob Coolen wasn’t sure how the pitching depth would hold up over the season’s opening weekend. But Morales went 201⁄3 innings before giving up her first run of the season, and sophomore Loie Kesterson provided three effective performances, aside from a rough eighth inning in the 7-2 loss to UCLA on Friday night.

A relatively young UH lineup will take the lessons of the weekend into their trip to Las Vegas for the Easton Desert Classic starting Thursday.

"I was concerned about our pitching staff with what little we had," Coolen said. "Loie proved she can go out there and be a gamer. She came in in three different games and pitched well. Heather pitched well.

"Our lineup right now, I’m not real sure our players are comfortable with each other in their lineup roles. … It’s still coming together."

UCLA’s Mysha Sataraka finally broke through against Morales with a sacrifice fly in the third inning of the title game. UH tied the game on Li‘ili‘i’s RBI single in the fourth, but the Bruins went ahead again in the fifth when Delaney Spaulding then drilled a single off Morales’ foot and into center field to drive in Gabrielle Maurice with the go-ahead run.

With runners on second and third with two out, Alyssa Tiumalu grounded a single through the right side of the infield. UH second baseman Sarina Jaramillo made a diving stop, but not in time to keep two more UCLA runs from scoring.

UCLA right-hander Ally Carda threw a five-inning no-hitter against Delaware on Thursday and retired the first nine UH batters she faced on Saturday before Keiki Carlos singled to lead off the fourth. She eventually came in when Li‘ili‘i bounced a single up the middle for her sixth RBI of the day.

But Carda and reliever Paige McDuffee held off the Wahine the rest of the way to complete UCLA’s run through the tournament.

"We know one thing, (the Wahine) always have big sticks, their pitching was very effective, and early in a season to play a tournament with a bracket like this is a great challenge for everybody," UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said after picking up her 300th career win. "So I’m very proud of our girls and our fight against a team that wouldn’t back down."

UH played without starting second baseman Jazmine Zamora, who was shaken up in a collision with UCLA’s Gracie Goulder while fielding a grounder late in Friday’s game.

Jecholia Pratt and McKalee Rouse. Heather Morales, Loie Kesterson (5) and Kayla Wartner. W—Morales. L—Pratt.

Leading hitters—Hampton: Margaret Wilkins, RBI. Hawaii: Keiki Carlos, 3-3, 2 2B, 3 RBIs; Sharla Kliebenstein, RBI; Leisha Li‘ili‘i 2-2, 2 HR, 5 RBIs.

Heather Morales and Sharla Kliebenstein. Ally Carda, Paige McDuffee (6) and Stephany LaRosa, Brittany Moeai (6). W—Carda. L—Morales. Sv—McDuffee.

Leading hitters—Hawaii: Leisha Li‘ili‘i RBI; Alyssa Villalpando, 2B. UCLA: Carda, 3-3; Delaney Spaulding, RBI; Mysha Sataraka, RBI; Alyssa Tiumalu, 2 RBIs; Gabrielle Maurice, 2B.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

UCLA—Alyssa Tiumalu (Most Valuable Player), Ally Carda (Most Valuable Pitcher), Gracie Goulder, Gabrielle Maurice, Mysha Sataraka, Danielle Spaulding, Jessica Hall. Hawaii—Leisha Li’ili’i, Lindsey Willmon, Heather Morales. Hampton—Danielle Budden, Taylor Clark. Delaware—Brittney Noons.