After being shut out by one nationally ranked team, the University of Hawaii softball team couldn’t contain the power of another in dropping both ends of a doubleheader in the Bank of Hawaii Invitational on Saturday.
UCF right-hander Shelby Turnier took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and the 19th-ranked Knights blanked the Rainbow Wahine 4-0 in UH’s first game of the afternoon.
Hawaii’s bats awoke in the finale against No. 16 Washington, but the Huskies hit three home runs to power past the Wahine in a 6-4 win.
UH fell to 8-6, with five losses coming against teams in this week’s USA Today/NFCA coaches poll.
The Wahine won’t have much time to dwell on Saturday’s games as the third seed in the tournament bracket. UH will be back at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium to face UCF again at 9 a.m. Sunday to begin bracket play.
"All we can do is flush it and start out fresh (Sunday)," said UH senior Leisha Li‘ili‘i, who hit her 40th career home run in the loss to Washington.
Top-seeded Washington plays UTEP at 11 a.m. UCF (10-1) will play again in the game scheduled for 1 p.m., either for the championship or third place, due to the Knights’ travel plans. UH is locked into the tournament finale scheduled for 3 p.m.
In Saturday’s meeting with UCF, UH went 6 2/3 innings before posting a hit against Turnier, who then ended the game with her 13th strikeout.
Turnier (6-1) entered the game with a 0.92 earned-run average and 55 strikeouts in 38 innings. She struck out the first six batters she faced and had eight strikeouts through three innings.
She took the no-hitter into the seventh and got two flyouts before UH shortstop Sarina Jaramillo flared a single into right field.
UCF catcher Kalyn Cenal helped her pitcher by driving in the Knights’ first run with a ground out in the top of the first and added a two-run homer in the third off UH starter Kanani Aina Cabrales, who took the loss.
After a 25-minute break, the Wahine pounced early against Washington with back-to-back doubles by Lindsey Willmon and Kayla Wartner to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Wartner later scored on a wild pitch to give UH a 2-0 lead.
But Washington (13-2) answered with Kelli Suguro’s solo homer in the second and Kylee Lahners’ two-run shot in the third.
Li‘ili‘i’s blast to center field tied the game in the bottom of the third, but Washington reclaimed the lead in the fourth on a two-run shot by Taylor Van Zee after Ali Aguilar walked with two out.
"We came out with a different vengeance in the second game, but our pitchers didn’t know how to get ahead in the court, stay ahead in the count," UH coach Bob Coolen said.
UW reliever Hailey Bator gave up a run in the fourth but held off the Wahine to earn the win.
"We were kind of disappointed in our performance (against UCF), so we got together and said we don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the first game," Li‘ili‘i said. "We tried to make little adjustments; unfortunately we came up short."
| At Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium |
| UCF (10-1) |
102 |
001 |
0 |
— |
4 |
6 |
1 |
| Hawaii (8-5) |
000 |
000 |
0 |
— |
0 |
1 |
2 |
Shelby Turnier and Kalyn Cenal. Kanani Aina Cabrales, Heather Morales (6) and Kayla Wartner. W—Turnier. L—AIna Cabrales.
Leading hitters—UCF: Linnea Goodman, 2-4, 2B; Kahley Novak, 2-4; Cenal, HR, 3 RBIs; Farrah Sullivan, RBI.
| Washington (13-2) |
012 |
201 |
0 |
— |
6 |
8 |
1 |
| Hawaii (8-6) |
201 |
100 |
0 |
— |
4 |
7 |
3 |
Kasey Stancheck, Hailey Bator (3) and Dani Braun. Brittany Hitchcock, Kanani Aina Cabrales (5) and Lindsey Willmon, Kayla Wartner (5). W—Bator. L—Hitchcock.
Leading hitters—Washington: Ali Aguilar, RBI; Taylor Van Zee, 3-4, HR, 2 RBIs; Kylee Lahners, 2-3, HR, 2 RBIs; Kelli Suguro, 2-3, HR. Hawaii: Willmon, 2B; Kayla Wartner, 2-3, 2 2B, RBI; Leisha Li’ili’i, HR; Sarina Jaramillo, 2-3.
Saturday’s early scores
UCF 3, UTEP 0
Washington 9, UTEP 0, 6 innings
Sunday’s games
UCF vs. Hawaii , 9 a.m.
UTEP vs. Washington, 11 a.m.
UCF vs. UTEP/Washington, 1 p.m.
Hawaii vs. UTEP/Washington, 3 p.m.
