California pitcher Jolene Henderson prevailed in a duel with Hawaii ace Stephanie Ricketts and the Golden Bears defeated the Rainbow Wahine 3-1 today in the Chevron Spring Fling Tournament.

Henderson struck out nine and walked one while giving up six hits for Cal (20-2), ranked ninth and 10th in this week’s national polls. Ricketts limited the Bears to three hits and struck out six, but No. 16/20 Hawaii (22-8) couldn’t overcome three unearned runs and dropped its third straight.

Cal took the lead in the top of the second inning when Henderson scored on a passed ball and Victoria Jones came in on a ground out by Lindsey Ziegenhirt.

The Wahine cut the lead in half when Kelly Majam homered to lead off the third inning, ending UH’s drought of 19 consecutive scoreless innings.

Henderson, the Pac-10’s leader in earned-run average coming into the week, thwarted UH’s comeback hopes as the Wahine left eight runners on base, including five in scoring position.

Despite the loss, UH won a tiebreaker with Iona and Cleveland State to clinch the third seed in the tournment.

The Wahine will face BYU at 2 p.m. on Saturday for the right to play in the championship game at 4.