Box Score

LAS VEGAS, Nev.—The No. 9/12 University of Hawai`i softball team (7-0) defeated Long Beach State (4-1), 10-4 to complete today's doubleheader sweep at the Louisville-Slugger Desert Classic. Kaia Parnaby earned the win with a complete game effort and got all the offensive support she needed on three home runs by Jessica Iwata, Alex Aguirre, and Sharla Kliebenstein.

 

Parnaby (3-0) gave up four runs on nine hits with three walks and seven strike outs.

 

UH jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Kelly Majam led the game off with a walk and was followed by Iwata, who promptly drilled her third home run of the day over the double-fence for the two-run bomb. Iwata leads UH with four home runs this season. Then with two outs, Kliebenstein drew the second walk of the inning and moved to third on a double to left by Sarah Robinson. Jenna Rodriguez then came up and hit a high-fly to short that was pushed by the strong winds for a single that scored both runners who were sprinting on contact with two outs.

 

The 49ers fought back to tie the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the second. Hannah DeGaetano led the inning off with a walk and moved to third on a fielding error by the rightfielder on a shallow fly ball. Then after a strike out, Bree Stephan got a single to right, but on the play, the ball ricocheted off the rightfielder's glove allowing both runners to score. Nalani St. Germain then hit a home run to right to knot the game at 4-4.

 

Hawai`i got the lead back in the top of the third on Kliebenstein's solo home run to leftfield. Her second home run of the season put UH back in front, 5-4.

 

The 'Bows then erupted for five more runs in the top of the fifth inning. Iwata led off with a single up the middle and was driven home by Aguirre's third home run of the day. Aguirre's drive to leftfield chased Long Beach State starter Taylor Petty from the game. Erin Jones-Wesley, the reigning Big West pitcher of the week, then entered the game but had some control problems early on as she walked the first batter then beaned the next two batters to load the bases. Melissa Gonzalez scored on a wild pitche and then after a strike out, Dara Pagaduan hit a grounder to third. On the play, Kliebenstein waited for the third baseman to throw to first and on the release, she sprinted home to score safely. Sarah Robinson scored UH's final run of the inning and the game on a wild pitch as well, pushing the lead to 10-4.

 

With the two wins today, Hawai`i is off to its best start in school history (against DI competition) at 7-0.

 

Tomorrow, weather permitting, the Rainbow Wahine will play another doubleheader, starting with No. 14/14 Oregon at 9:00 am and No. 19/18 Stanford at 1:30 pm. The game against Stanford will be a rematch of last season's NCAA Regional in which the 'Bows beat the Cardinal at Stanford, 6-3 on May 22, 2010.

 

 

                                                                                                                              -UH-