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One-run games continue to haunt the Hawaii softball team through the final week of the season.
Long Beach State’s Cielo Meza tossed a one-hit shutout with a career-high nine strikeouts and the Rainbow Wahine wasted a brilliant outing by Brittany Hitchcock in a 1-0 loss to the 49ers on Thursday night at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
Hitchcock allowed just two hits and an unearned run but was the hard-luck loser for Hawaii (28-22, 7-12), which dropped to 0-8 in games decided by a run in conference play.
“I’m getting tired of losing these one-run games,” UH coach Bob Coolen said. “Inept hitting and two errors that ended up costing us in the first inning. What can I say?”
A game that lasted only 83 minutes was decided in the first five when two two-out errors led to the Dirtbags’ only run.
A dropped ball at first base on a grounder back to the pitcher allowed Jessica Flores to reach base. She moved to third on a stolen base and a throw from catcher Callee Heen that bounced off Flores into left field to allow her to move up.
Catcher Lauren MacLeod followed with a chopper through the five hole to drive in the lone run of the game as Meza took care of the rest for LBSU (22-27-1, 10-9).
The redshirt freshman, who missed part of the season with an injury, has given up just one hit in her past 14 innings after throwing a no-hitter against UC Riverside last Sunday.
Hawaii junior Danielle Garcielita ended Meza’s hitless streak at 9 2/3 innings with a two-out single in the bottom of the third, but Meza responded with a three-pitch strikeout of Sarah Muzik to end the inning.
She retired 13 in a row to end the game after Garcielita’s grounder back up the middle made it into center field.
“One hit is the not the norm for us and Brittany did an awesome job on the mound and we didn’t do it for her at the plate as a team,” Garcielita said. “I think we were looking at a lot of pitches that we should have been hitting hard.”
UH shortstop Angelique Ramos fouled off five two-strike pitches before fouling out to third for the second out of the fifth and Nicole Lopez drove a ball to deep right in the bottom of the first that was caught near the wall.
That was it for UH, which can finish no better than seventh in the Big West.
“We’ve got to have a little different attitude,” Coolen said about tonight’s final two games this season. “We’re both in our last series and we’re not going anywhere, but we can’t play as if we don’t care. Brittany cared. She pitched a good game, but that one error in the first inning is what cost us.”
After giving up the two-out RBI single to MacLeod, Hitchcock retired 16 of the final 17 batters.
She struck out three without allowing a walk and also recorded an assist on a 1-4-5-4-1-3 fielder’s choice in the third.
“(Long Beach) is our nemesis and we usually don’t hold them to one run and two hits,” Coolen said. “She came into this and wanted to pitch well and she pitched well. It’s just unfortunate what happened in the first inning.”
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At Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium
>> LBSU (22-27, 10-9) 100 000 0 — 1 2 0
>> UH (28-22, 7-12) 000 000 0 — 0 1 2
Cielo Meza and Lauren MacLeod. Brittany Hitchcock and Callee Heen.
W—Meza. L—Hitchcock.
BIG WEST SOFTBALL
Thursday
>> Long Beach State 1, Hawaii 0
Today
>> Long Beach State at Hawaii (doubleheader), 4 p.m.
>> Cal Poly at UC Riverside
>> Cal State Northridge at UC Davis
>> Cal State Fullerton at UC Santa Barbara
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