HONOLULU—The University of Hawai'i softball team (22-14, 8-6 Big West) swept Saturday's doubleheader to win the series over UC Riverside, 2-1. Hawai'i held off the Highlanders 4-3 in the opener, then scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh for a 3-2 walkoff win that clinched the series. In the finale, Hawai'i's
Izabella Martinez tied the rubber game with a two-RBI single with the bases loaded and not outs.
Milan Ah Yat came through with her second walk-off RBI-single of the season for the win. UH pitcher
Macy Brandl earned both wins on Saturday, throwing a complete game in the opener and an inning of relief to end the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
Hawai'i 4, UC Riverside 3
UH starter
Macy Brandl retired the first eight-straight batters before Eta Lauti launched a solo home run with two outs in the third for a 1-0 lead.
UH scored three runs in the fourth to vault into the lead. UH's Martinez led off with a double to right. Later with one out, Ah Yat drilled an RBI-single up the middle to drive in pinch-runner
Keely Kai from second.
Jamie McGaughey then blasted her team-leading ninth home run of the season over the centerfield fence. The homer drove in pinch runner
Maya Ichimura for the 3-1 lead.
UH added what proved to be the winning run in the fifth.
Larissa Goshi reached on a fielder's choice and moved to second on Martinez's walk. Goshi stole third and on the play the throw ricocheted into left to allowing Goshi to score for a 4-1 lead.
The Highlanders got two runs back in the sixth. With runners at the corners, Rebecca Cabezas executed a suicide squeeze bunt that scored Trendee Kahunahana. Then, K Kamryn Davis hit an RBI single to left-centerfield to score Lauti. UCR went on to load the bases with one out. But Brandl got a strike out and a pop out to third to end the inning with UH leading 4-3.
Brandl earned the complete game win to improve to 9-5 overall. She allowed three runs while scattering six hits with no walks and six strikeouts.
The Highlanders' starter Brooke Perez fell to 3-6 overall, taking the loss after giving up three runs on four hits with three strikeouts. Raegan Everett threw one inning in relief, allowing one run on two hits with a walk and a strikeout. Maddie Heinlin threw the final frame, giving up a hit with three strikeouts.
Hawai'i 3, UC Riverside 2
In the third, UCR led the inning off with two hits to chase UH starter
Addison Kostrencich. Millie Fidge then entered the game in relief. UCR was able to load the bases with one out, but Fidge got a strikeout and a fielder's choice to
Liliana Thomas at third who stepped on the bag for the unassisted out.
In the sixth, UH got the first two outs, but then the Highlanders loaded the bases on a walk, a single and another walk. But the 'Bows escaped any damage as a pop out to second thwarted the two-out rally.
UC Riverside's Haley Saole and Jackie Alday led off the seventh with back-to-back solo home runs to take a 2-0 lead.
Hawai'i then started their epic comeback.
Cierra Yamamoto, pinch-hitter
Ellyanna Cinzori and
Larissa Goshi all reached base safely with singles to start the seventh. Martinez then drilled an RBI single up the middle to drive in Yamamoto and Cinzori to knot the score at 2-2. Then after an out, Ah Yat came through with a grounder up the middle that the shortstop fielded that allowed Goshi to score standing up to clinch the win and the series.
UH's Kostrencich threw the first two-and-a-third innings. She spaced six hits with a walk and a strikeout. Fidge threw the next three-and-two-thirds innings, allowing two runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Brandl earned the win getting the final three outs with one stikeout in her second appearance of the day. She improved to 10-5 overall.
UCR's Heinlin took the loss to fall to 8-10 overall. She threw the complete game, giving up three runs on seven hits with a walk and four strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work.
This is the second-straight weekend that UH has comeback scoring multiple runs in the seventh for the come-from-behind win. Last week, UH was down 2-1 at Cal State Fullerton when they scored five runs in the top of the seventh to defeat the Titans, 6-2 on the road.
The Rainbow Wahine will take on Cal State Bakersfield on the road next week. UH and CSUB will square off in a single game on Friday, April 11 at 11:30 a.m. HT, followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, April 12 beginning at 9:00 a.m. HT.
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