The University of Hawaii softball team endured a few anxious moments in the late innings on Saturday. All that mattered to coach Bob Coolen were the two notches in the win column.
The Rainbow Wahine opened their Big West Conference schedule by holding off Cal State Northridge’s seventh-inning rally to claim a 5-4 win in the first game of a doubleheader at Matador Diamond. No. 20/23 UH then managed to fend off the Matadors again in a 5-3 victory in the second game.
"I told (the players) that’s all we need to do; we just need to take care of business," Coolen said in a telephone interview from California.
"Every team is going to fight us hard in the Big West. We have a bull’s-eye on our front and bull’s-eye on our back."
The Wahine (24-7, 2-0 Big West) and Matadors (14-20, 0-2) conclude the series with a single game today at 9 a.m.
UH senior Kaia Parnaby earned complete-game wins in both of Saturday’s games and first baseman Leisha Li’ili’i went 4-for-7 with two home runs in the doubleheader.
Kelly Majam opened UH’s first Big West contest in 16 years with a leadoff home run and Li’ili’i’s two-run homer in the seventh proved to be the difference.
Parnaby struck out 13 in the first game and took a shutout into the bottom of the seventh before Northridge loaded the bases with two out. Sydney House then hit a grand slam to bring the Matadors to within a run. But Parnaby got a popout to end the game.
The Matadors took a 1-0 lead in the second game, before Li’ili’i launched another shot to tie it in the top of the second.
"The ball she hit to center field was a screamer, just a line drive," Coolen said. "She’s dialed in right now."
The Wahine moved ahead with a four-run third inning sparked by Keiki Carlos’ RBI triple. Kaile Nakao contributed a two-run single and Tara Anguiano followed with an RBI single to give UH a 5-1 lead.
Northridge scored two runs when Parnaby was called for illegal pitches. But she held off the Matadors with an assist from Buchanan, who threw a runner out at the plate in the sixth.
At Northridge, Calif.
Hawaii (23-7, 1-0) |
110 |
010 |
2 |
— |
5 |
8 |
1 |
CSUN (14-19, 0-1) |
000 |
000 |
4 |
— |
4 |
5 |
1 |
Kaia Parnaby and Kayla Wartner. Mia Pagano, Alexa Limon (7) and Mikayla Thielges. W–Parnaby. L–Pagano.
Leading hitters–Hawaii: Kelly Majam, HR; Leisha Li’ili’i, 2-4, 2b, HR, 3 RBIs; Jazmine Zamora, 2-4; Brynne Buchanan, 2b, RBI. CSUN: Sydney House, grand slam.
Hawaii (24-7, 2-0) |
014 |
000 |
0 |
— |
5 |
7 |
1 |
CSUN (14-20, 0-2) |
101 |
100 |
0 |
— |
3 |
7 |
1 |
Kaia Parnaby and Kayla Wartner. Shelly Tait, Alexa Limon (4) and Mikayla Thielges. W–Parnaby. L–Tait.
Leading hitters–Hawaii: Keiki Carlos, 3B, RBI; Leisha Li’ili’i, 2-3, HR; Kaile Nakao, 2 RBIs; Tara Anguiano, RBI.
CSUN: Thielges, 2-4, 2b, RBI; Tiffini Lucero, 2-3.