LIHU‘E — After seeing her team pick up its first loss of the young season, Jessica Iwata made sure the Rainbow Wahine would not suffer the same fate in the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader, as she slammed three home runs
LIHU‘E — After seeing her team pick up its first loss of the young season, Jessica Iwata made sure the Rainbow Wahine would not suffer the same fate in the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader, as she slammed three home runs against Stanford in a 6-1 win.
Having already blasted three in a pair of games Friday at the Louisville-Slugger Desert Classic in Las Vegas, Iwata repeated that performance with a trio of solo homers Saturday to get Hawai‘i (8-1) back to its winning ways.
UH, currently ranked No. 9/12 in the national softball polls, rebounded after losing its first game of the season, to then top No. 18/19 Stanford behind Iwata’s power and the pitching of Stephanie Ricketts.
Iwata was 4 for 4 in the game, connecting on solo homers in the first, fifth and sixth innings, as UH also got a two-run homer from Kelly Majam in its three-run sixth to take a 6-0 lead.
Ricketts threw a complete game, going 7.0 innings and giving up one run on four hits, while striking out seven and walking none. She improves to 4-1 on the season.
First baseman Sarah Robinson was 3 for 3 with an RBI double in the second inning, bringing home Dara Pagaduan.
Stanford (7-2) scored its lone run on a Danielle Miller home run in the top of the seventh inning. Teagan Gerhart was 2 for 3 for the Cardinal.
Gerhart was the losing pitcher, throwing 2.1 innings and giving up two runs on four hits. Ashley Chinn pitched the final 3.2 for Stanford, giving up four runs on five hits and striking out three.
Through the season’s first nine games, Iwata is hitting .419 (13 for 31) with seven home runs and 14 RBIs. She is slugging 1.129.
Hawai‘i completes its play in the Desert Classic today at 11:15 a.m. PT against CSU Northridge at the Stephanie Lynn Craig Park-Field 2.
Oregon 13, Hawai‘i 5
5 innings
The day began with a less successful outing, as the No. 14/14 Oregon Ducks scored 13 unanswered runs to come away with the five-inning win, handing the Wahine their season’s first loss.
Ricketts took the loss, going just 2.2 innings and giving up 10 runs on 10 hits.
UH appeared to be in control as it scored three runs in the top of the first inning and still led 3-0 in the bottom of the second. But Christie Nieto had a grand slam to cap a five-run inning, giving Oregon the 5-3 advantage.
The Ducks added another five runs in the third, with home runs from Kelsey Chambers and Courtney Ceo, the second chasing Ricketts from the game and bringing Jenna Rodriguez to the mound.
Up 10-3 in the fourth, Oregon scored three more runs on four hits, including a Monique Fuiava three-run homer.
Trailing 13-3 in the top of the fifth, UH came back with two runs, but was stopped there and lost the game via the mercy rule.
Chambers, Nieto and Fuiava had three hits apiece for the Ducks.
Rodriguez went 2 for 3 with two RBIs for the Wahine, while Iwata was 1 for 4 with a run scored. Sarah Robinson and Pagaduan each had an RBI.
