Ricketts threw all 10 innings to pick up her 19th win and 27th complete game of the season. She gave up two runs—just one earned—on six hits with seven walks and 10 strike outs. Ricketts took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, at one point retiring 13 batters in a row from the second inning to the sixth. She did not allow a hit from the powerful Aggies' until there was one out in the sixth inning.

 

The Rainbow Wahine jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on Sharla Kliebenstein's solo home run to centerfield. It was her team-leading, 12th home run of the season for the rookie catcher.

 

The 'Bows held the Aggies off the scoreboard until two outs in the top of the seventh, when NMSU mounted a rally to knot the score at 1-1. Ashley Maroda led the inning off with a sharp single to centerfield. Then after a strike out, New Mexico State loaded the bases on two straight walks. Ricketts then struck out the next batter but Kandis Jones followed with a dribbler to second, but a fielding error allowed all runners to be safe, including the tying run, (pinch runner) Shaleese Javillo, who scored from third.

 

Ricketts started the eighth inning with a strike out, but Teresa Conrad followed by drilling a double over the leftfielder. After a walk to put runners at first and second, Valerie Swedberg laced a single to left to score Conrad easily from second. Alyssa Ruiz then drove a single over the rightfielder, but on the play, a bizzare base running miscue by the Aggies ended the rally short. The runner at second, Maroda, stopped to see if the ball was caught then started to run. But the runner at first, Swedberg was on her horse and went past second base. The throw came in on a relay from right-to-second-to-catcher and Maroda got caught between third and home and was thrown out at the plate. Swedberg, then was trying to get back to her original bag by cutting across the infield and was called out for running out of the basepath for the third out, with NMSU leading 2-1.

 

But in the bottom of the eighth, UH fought back. Jasey Jensen started things by reaching safely on a throwing error on the shortstop. Jensen then hustled all the way home from first base on a double drilled to the right-centerfield gap by Jessica Iwata, tying the score at 2-2. Aggies' pitcher Alex Newman then got a soft-liner hit back to her for the first out. Melissa Gonzalez then hit a ground ball to short who tried to get Iwata out at third, but the throw was dropped to leave runners at the corners. Newman then got a pair of ground-outs to thwart the Rainbow's rally and end the inning.

 

After blanking the Aggies in the ninth and 10th innings, UH mounted the game-winning rally in the bottom of the 10th. Iwata led off with a single to center then scooted to third on a single through the right-side of the infield by Jenna Rodriguez. After a strike out, Kliebenstein was hit-by-pitch (for the second time in the game) to load the bases. Aguirre then hit an opposite-field single to the right-center gap to drive in the winning run.

 

The win snapped UH's four-game losing streak and also stopped NMSU's school-record 10 game win streak. The win also was crucial for UH as it secured a spot for the Rainbow Wahine in the WAC tournament in Fresno, Calif. in two weeks.

 

The two teams will square off in a series-ending doubleheader tomorrow starting at 4:00 pm. It is “Senior Night” for three Rainbow Wahine—Jasey Jensen, Jenna Rodriguez, and Melissa Gonzalez. The first 500 fans to enter the stadium will receive a team photo courtesy of the University of Hawai`i Federal Credit Union. 


                                                                                                                                    -UH-