Texas right fielder Holly Kern robbed Hawaii of a potential home run, then followed up her defensive play with her first homer of the season in the Longhorns’ 5-2 win over host Hawaii on Thursday at the Hawaii Pacific Health Rainbow Wahine Classic.
Kern robbed Rachael Turner of a homer in the bottom of the second. Center fielder Lindsey Stephens yelled out she couldn’t see the ball, so Kern took a stab at it. She clipped herself on the fence in right-center when she caught the ball right before it could clear Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
“I’ve been just waiting to get my opportunity,” Kern said. “Haven’t been playing much this year, so just taking every opportunity I can and doing my best. I had a good read on that ball. I was excited when I caught it, kind of banged me up a little bit.”
Kern’s solo homer over the left-field fence extended Texas’ lead to 3-0 in the top of the fourth. It was the first homer of the season for Kern, who entered the game hitting .194.
“I haven’t been very happy with my at-bats, so I was just seeing the ball really good and trying to home in and hit the ball solid enough to go over the fence,” Kern said. “T (pitcher Tiarra Davis) has been working very hard and (I’m) doing whatever I can to help her out.”
Hawaii (14-15) cut into the deficit in the bottom of the sixth. Rachel Lack’s two-run double to the left-field fence scored Keiki Carlos and Breanna Ojala, helping Hawaii close to 3-2 with one out. Turner then popped up to the pitcher Davis and Heather Morales struck out to end the inning.
Morales returned to the lineup for the first time since March 4. The starting first baseman had been out with a hamstring injury. She was the designated hitter on Thursday.
“It feels great,” Morales said of her return. “I’ve been able to even still work out during the day, know where I left off and I’m learning from my mistakes from before. Being able to compete with my team again feels great.”
Davis earned her 11th win of the year for Texas (18-5), scattering six hits while striking out five. She hit a two-run homer in the top of the seventh to extend the Longhorns’ lead to 5-2. Davis also threw one inning to pick up a save in Thursday afternoon’s 4-3 win over Iowa.
“She was mixing her pitches, but I don’t think we were seeing the ball out front like we normally do,” Morales said. “We know she’s going to throw again (at least) once this weekend and know what to fix on and what to do.”
Davis allowed back-to-back walks to lead off the bottom of the fifth. But Hawaii’s next two batters fouled out and popped out. Two wild pitches moved Hawaii runners into scoring position and Nicole Lopez fouled off four consecutive pitches with a 2-2 count. Davis then got Lopez to fly out to left to end the inning.
Celina Felix’s RBI double scored Stephens in the top of the third inning. Reagan Hathaway followed with a single to center to score Felix, giving Texas a 2-0 lead. Both of Texas’ runs came with two out. Stephens, who finished 4-for-4, singled and advanced to second on a throwing error by center fielder Ulu Matagiese. The error is Hawaii’s 46th of the year, the most among Big West teams.
Hawaii plays Iowa at 5 tonight and Texas at 7.
| At Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium |
| Texas (18-5) |
002 |
100 |
2 |
— |
5 |
9 |
0 |
| Hawaii (14-15) |
000 |
002 |
0 |
— |
2 |
6 |
1 |
Tiarra Davis and Randel Leahy. Kanani Aina Cabrales and Rachel Lack. W—Davis. L—Aina Cabrales.
Leading hitters—Texas: Lindsey Stephens 4-4; Davis HR, 2 RBI; Holly Kern HR; Celina Felix 2B, RBI. Hawaii: Rachel Lack 2B, 2 RBI.
