A consistently unpredictable early season continued for the University of Hawaii softball team on Tuesday.
After trading rallies with Coastal Carolina through the first three innings, the Rainbow Wahine surrendered a 10-run fourth inning to the Chanticleers in a 14-4 loss in five innings on a blustery evening in Manoa.
Bouncing back has become an early-season trend for the Wahine (12-10) and they won’t have much time to dwell on Tuesday’s performance with another tournament starting today.
“We’re going to try to do that, try to flush it, come out strong (today), be a bit more focused,” sophomore catcher Rachel Lack said. “That’s all you can do. … New team, new game.”
UH opens the four-day Outrigger Resorts Spring Fling Tournament with its annual meeting with California (10-6) today at 6 p.m. at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. No. 22 Baylor (14-5) faces North Dakota State (10-8) in the tournament opener at 3:30.
UH alternated wins and losses in last weekend’s Pepsi Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament, rebounding from two losses to Stanford with two wins over Coastal Carolina (9-12).
The Chanticleers, who opened the tournament with a win over Stanford, closed their stay with a measure of payback against UH in Tuesday’s stand-alone game.
After CCU scratched out a run in the top of the first inning, UH jumped ahead on Lack’s two-run single in the bottom of the inning, giving her seven RBIs in her last four plate appearances going back to Sunday’s 8-4 win over CCU.
UH starter Kanani Aina Cabrales struck out the first two batters of the second inning before CCU strung together four straight hits and took a 4-2 lead on Morgan Noad’s double.
The Wahine answered again in the bottom of the third when shortstop Breanna Ojala lined a two-run double into right-center to tie the game.
CCU then sent 13 batters to the plate in its fourth-inning explosion.
The Chanticleers loaded the bases on two singles and a walk and took the lead when Noad drew another walk. Two more runs were scored on an error and another when Mackenzie Conrad was hit on the side of her face with the bases loaded. She stayed on the ground for a few anxious moments while being tended to by a trainer but was able to walk off the field.
CCU leadoff hitter Bri Chiusano went 3-for-3 in the game with a triple and drove in three runs. She reached base safely in all four her plate appearances and scored each time. She capped the fourth-inning torrent of Chanticleer runs when she singled into right field with the bases loaded to drive in two runs. The ball got past right fielder Keiki Carlos and went to the fence while the speedy Chiusano circled the bases.
“It was a good first three innings of the game, but one thing led to another,” Lack said. “It happens in softball. That’s where that team has to flush it quicker and adapt quicker and we just didn’t do that tonight.”
At Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium
| CC (9-12) |
130 (10) |
0 |
— |
14 |
14 |
3 |
| Hawaii (12-10) |
202 |
00 |
— |
4 |
6 |
2 |
Kelsey Dominik and Morgan Noad. Kanani Aina Cabrales, Jennfier Iseri (4) and Rachel Lack, Heather Cameron (4). W—Dominik. L—Aina Cabrales.
Leading hitters—Coastal Carolina: Bri Chiusano, 3-3, 4 runs, 3B, 3 RBIs; Taty Forbes, 3-4, RBI; Noad, 2-3, 2B, 2 RBIs; Mackenzie Conrad, RBI; Kailey Mellen, RBI; Angela Buccilli, 3-3, 2B, 3 runs, RBI; Timi Tooley, 2B. Hawaii: Nicole Lopez, 2-3; Lack, 2-3, 2 RBIs; Breanna Ojala, 2B, 2 RBIs;
Outrigger Resorts
Spring Fling Tournament
Today—North Dakota State vs. Baylor, 3:30 p.m.; California vs. Hawaii, 6 p.m.
Thursday—North Dakota State vs. California, 3:30 p.m.; Baylor vs. Hawaii, 6 p.m.
Friday—Baylor vs. California, 1 p.m.; Baylor vs. North Dakota State, 3:30 p.m.; North Dakota State vs. Hawaii, 6 p.m.
Saturday—California vs. North Dakota State, 10 a.m.; Baylor vs Hawaii, noon; North Dakota State vs. Hawaii, 2 p.m.
