WAHINE SOFTBALL
Rainbow Wahine knock out Fresno
FRESNO, Calif. » The Hawaii softball team knocked top-seeded Fresno State out of the Western Athletic Conference tournament with a 6-5 victory yesterday at Bulldog Diamond and will face Nevada today with a trip to the NCAA tournament at stake.
The Rainbow Wahine rallied from a 3-0 deficit and took the lead on Kristi Yoshizawa's two-run homer in the sixth. They withstood a rally in the seventh inning to eliminate the No. 23 Bulldogs.
"When I saw it go over I was just so happy. I was just screaming," Yoshizawa said of her home run. "It was unbelievable that it landed right by my parents."
UH and Nevada are both undefeated in the tournament and will play a best-of-three series today for the WAC title and an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. The first game is set for 9 a.m. Hawaii time.
"The kids were amazingly sky high," UH coach Bob Coolen said. "I had to remind them we still have another day."
After Fresno State took a 3-0 lead, Jessica Morton threw four innings of solid relief to earn the win. Freshman Courtney Baughman preserved the victory by getting the final out with the tying run at second.