PROVO, Utah — The University of Hawai’i softball team split Saturday’s doubleheader against BYU with a 1-0 win and a 7-3 loss. In game one, UH’s Stephanie Ricketts fired a one-hit shut-out to earn her 20th win of the season.
PROVO, Utah — The University of Hawai’i softball team split Saturday’s doubleheader against BYU with a 1-0 win and a 7-3 loss.
In game one, UH’s Stephanie Ricketts fired a one-hit shut-out to earn her 20th win of the season. She became the first UH pitcher to ever earn 20 wins in all four seasons of her career.
For Ricketts, it was her eighth shut out of the season and 31st of her career which moves her to within one shutout of tying Brooke Wilkins’ UH career record of 32 set in 1995. She threw 7.0 innings with three walks and five strike outs for her second one-hit shutout of the season.
The Rainbow Wahine posted the first and only run of the game in the top of the sixth inning. Kelly Majam and Kayla Wartner led off the inning with a pair of walks. Both advanced into scoring position off of a deep fly out to centerfield by Sarah Robinson. Jessica Iwata was then intentionally walked to load the bases for Alex Aguirre who grounded out to the pitcher but scored Majam from third for the 1-0 lead.
Hannah Howell of BYU suffered the loss dropping her record to 11-6. She also tossed a complete game, giving up just two hits with four walks and five strike outs.
The UH win snapped BYU’s 27-home game win streak that dated back to the 2010 season.
In the second game, UH’s Kaia Parnaby (12-2, 1-2 WAC) suffered the loss while BYU’s Tori Almond (8-2, 3-0 WAC) earned the win st Gail Miller Field.
The Rainbow Wahine started the game strong, scoring one run in the top of the first. Kelly Majam led the game off with a single up the middle and moved to second and third on two wild pitches. Sarah Robinson then drove her in with a single down the leftfield line to give UH the early 1-0 lead.
But the Cougars came roaring back in the bottom of the inning, scoring six runs in the inning—the most runs allowed in any game against the ‘Bows this season. Jessica Dugas led off the home-half of the inning with a single down the leftfield line and moved to second when JC Clayton walked. BYU then executed a double steal to move both runners into scoring position. After a strike out, Katie Manuma laced a single through the right-side of the infield to score both Dugas and Clayton. Manuma advanced to second on an illegal pitch and then scooted to third on an infield single to short by Stacie Toney to leave runners at the corners. Carly Duckworth then hit into a fielder’s choice that erased Toney at second for the second out but scored Manuma for their third run. Alexandra Hudson walked to put runners at first and second. Ashlee Brawley and Anna Hudson then followed with back-to-back singles that drove in a run each. Later, with BYU batting around the order, Dugas got her second hit of the inning with a single to left to score Brawley to give BYU a 6-1 lead after one complete inning.
BYU added another run in the third to increase their lead to 7-1. Duckworth led off with a walk and hustled to third on an error on the pitcher off a grounder by Al Hudson. Stephanie Ricketts then entered the game in relief of Kaia Parnaby. Duckworth then scored from third on a wild pitch.
The ‘Bows got a couple of runs back in the sixth on a two-run home run by Jessica Iwata that sailed over the leftfield fence that drove in pinch runner Tara Anguiano who was in the game for Kayla Wartner who had earlier reached on an error. It was Iwata’s seventh homer of the season and her 40th of her career.
Hawai’i tried to mount a rally in the seventh, but came up just short. After a ground out to third, Dara Pagaduan and Leisha Li’ili’i both singled to centerfield. But reliever Hannah Howell settled down to get pinch hitter Kaile Nakao to foul out to rightfield and Majam to fly out to leftfield to end the game.
Parnaby gave up seven runs on six hits with three walks and two strike outs in two-plus innings of work. Ricketts fired the final four innings holding the Cougars off the scoreboard. She ended the doubleheader blanking the high-powered BYU offense on the scoreboard in 11 innings of action. Ricketts had two walks with four strike outs.
BYU’s Tori Almond earned the win, giving up three runs on five hits with no walks and seven strike outs.
Hannah Howell threw the final inning, allowing two hits but no runs.
The loss snapped UH’s seven-game win streak that began on March 17 with a 2-1 win over Winthrop.
Hawai’i returns home this week to host a three-game WAC series against Louisiana Tech. The two teams will face off in a single game on Friday at 6 p.m., with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
