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Monday, February 5, 2001
TAMPA, Fla. -- The Hawaii softball team had circled yesterday's date on the calendar the moment they saw the 2001 schedule. The ‘other’ Wildcats
shut out WahineBy Andrew Bell
Special to the Star-BulletinThe players were looking forward to facing No. 3 Arizona.
This would be, the Wahine thought, a chance to get an early crack at the Wildcats, when lineups are still being shuffled.
But Hawaii never got the chance.
Rain on Saturday moved the Hawaii-Northwestern game to yesterday, cancelling the Hawaii-Arizona game.
And the Wahine fell to the tournament's "other" Wildcats, 4-1.
"We're very disappointed,'' Hawaii coach Bob Coolen said. "Before the trip, we discussed what the goals would be and certainly Arizona was part of it.
"We'll play them (Arizona) in March at the Kia Klassic. But, it is different facing a talented team early than catching them in the midst of a run.''
The cancelled game was an even larger disappointment to the players.
"To play them (Arizona) in March, depends on elimination and brackets,'' Wahine junior catcher/first baseman Jenn Tandarich said. "But, here we knew we would play. We were very excited and there was a thrill while we were travelling. Hopefully we'll play in March. We have to move on.''
The Wildcats were looking forward to the game for the opportunity of facing tough competition early.
"When we play each other, it's always a great game,'' Arizona coach Mike Candrea said after his team defeated South Florida yesterday, 5-0. "I was very disappointed with the weather and we enjoy playing good teams.''
Yesterday's loss was the first of the season for Hawaii (3-1).
Northwestern capitalized on two fielding errors in the fourth inning, leading to two runs. Wahine pitcher Sheri Oronez never got into a rhythm.
But, Coolen says that's why the tournament was so important, as he had an opportunity to see all of his starters, and see what some starters can do in relief.
"We needed to see all of our pitchers to help us determine our rotation,'' Coolen said. "We won't use all four, but we will play doubleheaders. They (Northwestern) played very aggressive and continued to pressure us. But we're looking good and came closer to finding which players will play what roles.''
Despite the rain-out of the Arizona game, Coolen said the trip was worth it.
"We represented the WAC conference and played out-of-region teams,'' Coolen said. "Overall, it was very beneficial for us. We played some Florida schools and it makes your team better to face teams it usually wouldn't. Now we can compare ourselves to some other teams around the country instead of just the west.''
SOFTBALL
College
Northwestern 4, Hawaii 1
At Tampa, Fla.
Hawaii 000 001 0 -- 1 5 2 Northwestern 000 211 x -- 4 6 1 Oronoz, Duran (5) and Mumaw; Brown and Kira and Gross (7). W--Brie Brown. L--Sheri Oronez.
Leading hitter--NW: Austin 2-for-3, RBI, run.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
