Monday, February 18, 2002
Nobody wins in a strike, including the Hawaii softball team. 49ers rout Rainbow
Wahine in finalBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comIf United Airlines machinists hit the picket line this week as they have threatened, UH coach Bob Coolen doesn't know how his Rainbow Wahine will get to the mainland for a game against Arizona State in Tempe and a tournament at Tucson in the next 10 days.
"There's nothing else right now. Everything else is booked," Coolen said. "I don't want to, but we might have to cancel."
With Long Beach State among the field of the Arizona Hillebrand Invitational, Hawaii is itching to get to the desert. The 49ers have dealt the Wahine five of their six losses this season, including yesterday's championship of the Chevron Paradise Classic.
Long Beach State whipped Hawaii 9-1 at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium, outplaying UH in every important phase -- again.
The Wahine (9-6) aren't sick of the 49ers (14-4), they're just sick of losing to them.
"Unfortunately, something is different when we play them," said all-tournament left fielder Stacie Hirano, who batted .125 against LBSU and .385 against the rest of the field, which UH swept in four games.
"We're looking forward to (playing Long Beach again). Basically, we just need to play the way we usually do when we're not playing them. We need to score first and minimize, no, eliminate, errors."
UH produced double the number of errors (four) than hits (two) in yesterday's final. The fielding mistakes led to six unearned runs.
Hawaii sophomore first baseman Stacie Porter was named Most Outstanding Player. Like Hirano, the Australian slugger was far more impressive against teams not nicknamed The Beach. She batted .500 (6-for-12) with two homers and five RBIs against Texas-Arlington and Mercer. Porter had only two hits in three games against LBSU, though one was a homer.
"Everyone was ready for them," Porter said. "We were aggressive and wanted to get on top of them early."
But the opposite happened in the first inning of the final.
The 49ers' first batter, Christina Zepeda singled, was sacrificed to second, stole third and scored on Jamie Farnworth's fly.
What irked Coolen most was that the assembly line for this manufactured run began with Zepeda in an 0-2 hole. But freshman Melissa Coogan's waste pitch was too hittable.
"That was it," Coolen said. "That's the youth of our pitching staff coming through. They have to learn it's more a pitching game than a throwing game."
The 49ers' Lindsey Knoff was a good example of what Coolen wants. She wasn't overpowering, but allowed only singles by Porter and Marie Jackson and no walks.
Even if LBSU had lost, it would have had another chance to beat UH for the championship. The 49ers went 6-0 in the tournament.
"We're just playing good, solid softball," Long Beach State coach Pete Manario said. "A lot of it has to do with confidence."
Sheri Oronoz pitched a five-hitter and hit a two-run homer as Hawaii beat Texas-Arlington in yesterday's first game.
UH Athletics
