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Hawaii threatened to end its skid against Pac-12 competition Friday night, but Oregon State freshman Nerissa Eason stymied the Rainbow Wahine softball team in the Beavers’ 2-0 win in the Paradise Classic.
Oregon State catcher Kayleen Shafer’s two-run home run with two out in the top of the second inning proved to be the difference and Eason held off UH (2-1) in a two-hit shutout at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
Other than Shafer’s homer, UH junior Brittany Hitchcock was equally sharp throughout the night, holding OSU (3-0) to four hits with the aid of a solid Rainbow Wahine defensive performance. She struck out eight and walking one in the complete-game effort.
“We just gotta get over the hump against the better teams,” UH coach Bob Coolen said.
“It’s just a matter of getting over that little bit of a hump where our hitters come through and we put pressure on them rather than them putting pressure on us. Because Brittany threw another great game.”
UH went 0-5 against Pac-12 competition last season, including an 11-1 loss to Oregon State at the DeMarini Desert Classic in Las Vegas when the Beavers peppered Hitchcock for five runs on eight hits in four innings.
Hitchcock opened the season by striking out a career-high 11 in a win over Sacramento State on Thursday and kept the Wahine in contention throughout Friday’s matchup with OSU. After Shafer’s home run, the right-hander allowed just three more baserunners. One was erased on a double play in the fourth inning and another thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double in the sixth.
“She was getting ahead, she was keeping us off balance with her offspeed drop ball and her changeup. I thought she did a great job,” Oregon State coach Laura Berg said.
UH threatened early, loading the bases with help from two Eason walks with one out in the bottom of the first inning. But Eason escaped with a force out at the plate and a called third strike.
“That’s a huge thing (for Eason),” Berg said. “This right here is postseason atmosphere. You’re playing against the hometown crowd … and it was a great atmosphere to be in and I thought she did a really good job of holding her composure.”
UH put two runners on in the third on OSU errors but a line-out double play ended the threat.
Eason held UH without a hit until the bottom of the fifth when Danielle Garcielita reached on a grounder deep into the hole at shortstop for an infield single.
Freshman Bree Soma singled with two out in the bottom of the seventh, but Eason finished the night with her fourth strikeout.
“We were late and when you’re late you top the ball and you hit the ball in the ground,” Coolen said Eason’s penchant for forcing ground balls. “We weren’t extending to the ball so we weren’t getting the elevation.”
The tournament concludes with five games today, weather permitting. UH is scheduled to face Boise State at 3 p.m. and UAB at 5.
Oregon State (3-0) 020 000 0 — 2 4 3
Hawaii (2-1) 000 000 0 — 0 2 0
Nerissa Eason and Kayleen Shafer. Brittany Hitchcock and Heather Cameron. W— Eason L—Hitchcock.
Leading hitters—Oregon State: Sammi Noland, 2B; Shafer, HR, 2 RBIs.
Friday’s early scores
Sacramento State 5, UAB 3
Boise State 4, UAB 0
Sacramento State 8, Boise State 3
Today’s games
Oregon State vs. Sacramento State, 9 a.m.
Oregon State vs. UAB, 11 a.m.
Boise State vs. Sacramento State, 1 p.m.
Boise State vs. Hawaii, 3 p.m.
UAB vs. Hawaii, 5 p.m.
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