LIHU‘E — At this point, it really shouldn’t be a surprise. The University of Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine used another dramatic home run in their final at-bat to take the lead and ultimately beat the University of Missouri, 3-2, Thursday in
LIHU‘E — At this point, it really shouldn’t be a surprise.
The University of Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine used another dramatic home run in their final at-bat to take the lead and ultimately beat the University of Missouri, 3-2, Thursday in the opening game of the Women’s College World Series.
This time it was Traci Yoshikawa who provided the go-ahead blast — her 12th of the season — with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning, which also scored pinch-runner Dara Pagaduan.
“(Missouri pitcher Kristin Nottelmann) was going outside all day, so I just had to make an adjustment,” Yoshikawa said. “I just threw my hands out to the ball and as soon as I hit it I knew it was over the wall.”
After her only hit of the day, Yoshikawa was mobbed at home plate by her Wahine teammates, a sight UH fans have grown used to recently.
Hawai‘i (50-14) advanced into the World Series on a walk-off home run from Jenna Rodriguez to knock out the tournament’s top seed, Alabama, on Sunday.
Thursday was just the third time this season UH has come back to win a game it trailed entering the seventh inning.
“It’s an exciting first game for us,” said Bob Coolen, UH head coach. “There are a lot of people in the stands that thought we would bunt that first runner over, but that’s not been our M.O. this year. We are a hitting team, and we had the right lineup coming up in that last inning.”
Now among the final eight teams playing in Division I, the ‘Bows went up against a game Missouri Tigers (51-12) squad and starting pitcher Kristin Nottelmann. It was tough going for UH throughout much of the game, though left fielder Alexandra Aguirre got the team on the board with a solo home run in the top of the second inning.
“For me, it was seeing the first four batters and seeing (Nottelmann) go to the outside corner,” Aguirre said. “I usually stay in the back of the box to see the ball longer, but I know that the outside is one of my pitches to hit. So I scooted up a little bit and as soon as I saw it I threw my hands at it and I could see it going.”
That gave the ‘Bows a 1-0 lead, but the Tigers came back to tie the game in the third when Nicole Hudson doubled home Rhea Taylor, evening the score at 1-1.
Missouri took the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when Taylor led off the frame with a solo homer. She ended the day 2 for 4 with the home run, two runs and an RBI.
Yoshikawa went 1 for 3 with the two-run homer. Kelly Majam and Kanani Pu‘u Warren each had two hits for the ‘Bows.
Jessica Iwata, Jenna Rodriguez, Aguirre and Grimes had one hit apiece.
The two homers ups the Hawai‘i season total to 156, as it adds to its NCAA single-season record.
Pitcher Stephanie Ricketts improved to 30-8, going the full seven innings and giving up two runs — one earned — on six hits. She struck out six and walked three.
Ricketts set down the Tigers in order in the bottom half of the seventh inning to send UH on in the winners’ bracket.
The ‘Bows will face UCLA at 1 p.m. HT (7 p.m. ET) today, who beat up on Florida with a 16-3, six-inning win. The game will be shown on ESPN and broadcast on ESPN 1420 AM radio.
Missouri will take on Florida in the losers’ bracket. The tournament is double-elimination, so all teams are still in the hunt for the title.
Tigers head coach Ehren Earleywine was disappointed in his team’s performance.
“Very disappointed in the game,” he said. “Felt like our hitters had one of the worst showings of the season, unfortunately at a time like this. Nothing against Hawai‘i, but I felt like their pitcher was somebody that we could put in play a lot more often, a lot harder… If somebody would have told me before the game that Hawai‘i was only going to score three runs, I would have said ‘Sweet, we can win that game.’ We didn’t, and our hitters need to do a better job in the next outing.”
