Baylor pitcher Aliyah Binford won her duel with Hawaii freshman Brianna Lopez at the plate and in the circle in the Bears’ 2-1 win over the Rainbow Wahine softball team on Wednesday night.

Binford, a sophomore right-hander, held the Rainbow Wahine offense to two singles and drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the sixth inning with her second double of the game to close the first day of the Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic.

Binford struck out six and walked three in the complete-game victory and had two of Baylor’s six hits against Lopez, who kept the Wahine (5-6) within striking distance after the Bears scratched out an unearned run in the top of the first inning.

Lopez struck out three and allowed one walk in her first appearance against a Power Five conference opponent.

“In the beginning it was a matter of getting into her optimum playing condition, and now she’s in her OPC and her ball is moving,” UH coach Bob Coolen said of the left-hander.

“She has enough pop where she can get it by, and if she throws her changeup consistently she’s going to fool a lot of batters.”

Baylor coach Glenn Moore also had high praise for his pitcher after Bears (11-6) rebounded from a 7-6 loss to California to earn a split of their doubleheader at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

“I told (Binford) after the game it was, I think, the best performance of her career to do this against Hawaii on their home field,” Moore said. “She pitched a gem of a game and she provided the offense we needed.”

Baylor’s McKenzie Wilson led off the game with a walk, advanced to second on Taylor Strain’s bunt and continued to third when the throw to first was mishandled. Emily Hott followed with a foul fly to left field to score Wilson.

The Wahine stranded a runner at third in the first inning and broke through in the third when freshman catcher Izabella Martinez drilled a two-out single up the middle to score Nawai Kaupe from second with the tying run.

Lopez continued to match zeroes with Binford into the sixth and extended her streak of innings without allowing an earned run to 192⁄3 innings.

“I’m very happy with our offense, so for (Lopez) to shut us down most of the game certainly says a lot for her,” Moore said. “We’re a left-handed lineup and I thought the matchup favored her, but the key was her changeup.”

Binford ended the run when she lined an opposite-field double into the right-field corner to score Hott from first to break the tie. She gave up two-out walks in the bottom of the sixth and seventh but snuffed UH’s comeback hopes both times with a pop-out and a game-ending strikeout.

“On defense we did pretty well … we just have to find our bats, that’s the main key now,” said Kaupe, who singled, walked and had a stolen base. “Just a little bit of inconsistency but every team has something like that and I know we can overcome that.”

The four-day event continues today with Baylor taking on No. 1 Oklahoma as Hau‘ula’s Jocelyn Alo seeks to break the NCAA career home run record. The Rainbow Wahine (5-5) then face California at 6 p.m. Coolen said freshman Chloe Borges will get the start for the Wahine against the Golden Bears.

Baylor 2, Hawaii 1

At Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium

Baylor (11-6) 100 001 0 — 2 6 0

Hawaii (5-6) 001 000 0 — 1 2 1

Aliyah Binford and Zadie LaValley. Brianna Lopez and Izabella Martinez. W—Binford (4-2). L—Lopez (2-3).

Leading hitters—Baylor: Emily Hott, RBI; Binford 2-3, 2 2B, RBI; Josie Bower, 2-3. Hawaii: Nawai Kaupe, 1-2, sb; Martinez, RBI.