HONOLULU—The University of Hawai'i softball team (15-8, 1-0 Big West) pulled away from Long Beach State to open the Big West with a 6-1 win on Friday night at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. Hawai'i's starting pitcher Addison Kostrencich earned the complete game win to improve to 8-4 while home runs by Liliana Thomas and Chloe Borges helped propel the Rainbow Wahine past The Beach.
 
Kostrencich gave up just on run while spacing seven hits in seven complete innings of work. She had two walks with two strikeouts.
 
Hawai'i posted a pair of runs in the first. UH loaded the bases on one out. Maycen Gibbs drew a nine-pitch walk and Liliana Thomas followed with a single to left. Jamie McGaughey then drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases. Milan Ah Yat battled at the plate and worked her way on base with a nine-pitch walk which drove in Gibbs. Carys Murkami then lifted a sacrifice fly to the leftfield corner that pushed Thomas across the plate for the 2-0 lead.
 
With a Beach runner at first, a double off the wall in left had the lead runner tearing around the bases trying to score from first. But a Kayara Tuiloma-to-Ah Yat-to-Izabella Martinez relay cut down the runner trying to slide home to end the frame.
 
The Beach got one run back in the top of the fourth on a solo home run by Avery Weisbrook to center that cut UH's lead in half, 2-1.
 
Hawai'i got one run back in the bottom of the fourth when Chloe Borges blasted a solo shot over the centerfield fence. It was her third homer of the season and 14^th of the senior's career.
 
In the fifth, UH scored three runs to extend its lead to 6-1. Gibbs got her second hit of the game to get things started with one out. Thomas followed by drilling a line drive home run to centerfield. It was Thomas' third homer of the season. The Beach then relieved starting pitcher Shannon Haddad with Maddy Martin. Later with two outs and runners at first and second after two walks, Ellyanna Cinzori drilled an opposite field single through the leftside of the infield to score Ah Yat who raced around third from second to slide in safely.
 
Long Beach State's starter Haddad suffered the loss to fall to 4-2 overall. She allowed five runs on five hits in 4-1/3 innings pitched. She had three walks and four strikeouts. Reliever Matin allowed a run on one hit with three walks and a strikeout in the final 1-2/3 innings.

Hawai'i and Long Beach State square off in a series-ending double header on Saturday starting at 2:00 p.m. HT.