LAS VEGAS, Nev.—The University of Hawai'i softball team improved to 5-3 overall after recording a pair of mercy-rule wins on Friday to start UNLV's Desert Classic tournament. Hawai'i notched only three hits but capitalized on 10 walks and four hit batters to defeat Montana, 10-1 in five innings. The Rainbow Wahine rallied to come from behind to pull away from UNLV, 12-2 in six innings in the final game of the night. The game was highlighted by
Mya'Liah Bethea's two home runs in the Las Vegas native's homecoming games. Hawai'i starters
Brianna Lopez (3-1) and Key-Annah Campbell-Pua (2-1) both earned complete game wins at Eller Media Stadium on the UNLV campus. It was the first time that UH has won back-to-back mercy rule games since downing Fordham and UTEP on Feb. 15 in the 2019 Boyd Gaming Rebel Classic ironically also in Las Vegas.
Hawai'i 10, Montana (5 innings)
The Rainbow Wahine recorded just three hits, but took advantage of 10 walks and four hit batters to earn its second mercy-rule win of 2023. The win snapped Hawai'i's three-game losing streak.
In the first inning, Hawai'i loaded the bases with two walks and a beaned batter. With two outs,
Haley Johnson drew the third walk of the inning to force Xiao Gin across the plate to score the first run.
Mya'Liah Bethea was then walked to score
Maya Nakamura. Montana lifted starter Maggie Joseph for reliever Evelyn O'Brien to pitch with two outs and the bases loaded. O'Brien proceeded to walk
Cierra Yamamoto to force
Izabella Martinez home for a 3-0 lead after one complete inning.
The Grizzlies got one run back on a pair of doubles in the second. Kendall Curtis led the inning off with a double down the first base line. After a groundout to short, Presley Jantzi hit another double to right to score Curtis from second.
Hawai'i loaded the bases again on two walks and a hit batter to start the second inning. UH's
Dallas Millwood drove a two-run single to right allowing both Gin and
Ka'ena Keliinoi to come home. Johnson followed with a groundout that scored Nakamura and later, Yamamoto lined a sacrifice fly to left which allowed Millwood to score from third.
Montana loaded the bases in the top of the third on three singles on one out. But Lopez was able to escape unscathed getting a popout to second and flyout to center to thwart the Grizzlies' rally.
For the third straight inning, the Rainbow Wahine loaded the bases. With one out, Martinez grounded out to second to score Gin from third. Later, Nakamura scored from third on a wild pitch to extend UH's lead to 9-1.
Hawai'i added one more run in the fourth as
Cira Bartolotti lifted a sacrifice pop fly to first which allowed pinch runner
Piper Neri to tag and score from third. UH led 10-1 after four complete innings.
Lopez earned her second complete game win of the season, allowing just one run on six hits with a walk and a season-high seven strikeouts to improve to 3-1.
Montana's Joseph took the loss. She recorded the first two outs of the first inning but was unable to make it out of the frame. She allowed three runs on four walks and a hit batter. O'Brien got the final out of the first but gave up one walk. Reliever Grace Haegele allowed seven runs on three hits with five walks, three hit batter, and one strikeout.
Hawai'i 12, UNLV 2 (6 innings)
After a scoreless first inning, the Rebels loaded the bases with no outs in the second inning. Kelsie Kelso drove in Janyssa Martin and Denise Armendariz with a single to right. Hawai'i starter Key-Annah Campbell-Pua then settled down to retire the next three batters to squelch the Rebel rally.
In the top of the third, UH tied the score at 2-2. Bartolotti led off with a walk and was quickly driven home on a triple ripped down the rightfield line to the corner by Gin. After a walk to Nakamura, Johnson hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Gin from third.
Hawai'i's
Mya'Liah Bethea led off the fourth with a first pitch blast that sailed over the rightfield fence to give UH its first lead of the game. For Bethea, it was her team-leading fourth home run this year and sixth for her career. Later, with the bases loaded and one out,
Cierra Yamamoto laced a single to center to drive in Rachel Sabourin from third and Nakamura followed with an RBI-groundout to third that scored Bartolotti. Johnson picked up an RBI driving in Gin with a single to left to give UH a 6-2 lead.
In the sixth, the 'Bows erupted for six runs to put the game away. With runners at first and third and no outs, Yamamoto struck out swinging, but on the play, UH executed a double seteal which scored Bartolotti and left Gin at second. After a Nakamura single, Johnson drove in Gin with a fielder's choice hit to second.
Izabella Martinez kept things rolling with a double to the left-centerfield gap to push Johnson to third and drive home Nakamura. Bethea then launched her second home run of the game just over the right-field fence for a three-run bomb to extend UH's lead to 12-2. After hitting just two homers in her career (both as a sophomore), Bethea has hit five home runs in UH's first eight games of the season.
Hawai'i starter Campbell-Pua gave up just two runs on two hits in six innings to earn the win. She issued four walks and struck out three.
UNLV starting pitcher Martin suffered the loss and was responsible for the first six runs on seven hits with two walks and a strikeout in 3-1/3 innings of work. Zellien came in relief in the fourth inning and threw the final 2-2/3 innings. She gave up six runs on six hits with a strikeout.
Hawai'i will return to the diamond on Saturday morning to take on Big West rival CSU Bakersfield in a non-conference game at 8:00 a.m. HT followed by a second game against UNLV at 1:00 p.m. HT.
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