GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Pacific pitcher Jennifer Dacre threw a one-hitter in yesterday's championship game of the Hawaii Invitational.
Consistency is everything. The key is coming to play hard every day. Wahine regroup
against BuckeyesBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comThe question for the Hawaii softball team this season has been which Wahine squad will show up at the field come game day.
Will it be the Hawaii team that gave up three unearned runs in a 4-0 loss Saturday to No. 16 Ohio State? Or will it be the Wahine team that pounded out 12 hits in taking down the same Buckeye team yesterday, 10-4, in the fourth-place game of the Hawaii Invitational?
"I think we all feel good after this win," said sophomore pitcher Melissa Coogan, who went 2-2 during the four-day tournament at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. "Everyone was really motivated and the whole demeanor of the team was totally different today from Saturday.
"We decided that the way we played (Saturday) wasn't us. We knew we had to come out different, come out hitting and keep hitting."
The big hit in the title game was a sacrifice fly in the 10th that gave Pacific a 1-0 victory over Wisconsin.
The Tigers had earned a spot over the top-seeded Badgers when beating Tokyo Women's College, 7-1, in the semifinal.
Hawaii 10, Ohio State 4: The Wahine (17-12) didn't take long to end the no-hitter for OSU's Katie Chain. Chain, the winner in Saturday's contest, gave up an RBI-single to Wahine cleanup hitter Stacey Porter with two outs the top of the first for a 1-0 lead.
The Wahine put the game away with a six-run second, highlighted by back-to-back homers by Porter and Kate Judd. Porter's sixth home run of the year came on a 2-2 pitch that she sent out some 210 feet over left-center for three runs, chasing Chain.
New pitcher, same result. Judd nailed a 1-2 offering from Buckeye reliever Chelsea Baker also over left-center for a solo home run that put Hawaii up, 7-0.
Catcher Denise Dahlberg made it 8-0 in the third when scoring from third on an error. The Buckeyes got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third on Rogeanna Hottinger's lead-off homer to close to 8-1.
Hawaii was poised to end the game after five on the eight-run rule, scoring twice in the top of the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Trisha Ramos and an RBI-single from Dahlberg for a 10-1 lead.
But Ohio State (15-10) battled back with two runs in the fourth, capitalizing on a two-out doubles by Stacy Hibma and Breana Pozzi and the second of two UH errors. The Buckeyes' last run came in the seventh, again with two out, when Meghan Rowlands scored on Annie Dedic's double.
Coogan (14-6) went the distance, striking out two and walking one. Chain (6-5) took the loss, giving up six runs -- one earned -- in 1 2/3-innings.
"Melissa didn't have her best so I had to go with what she had to offer," said Dahlberg, who called the pitches. "We tried to keep the ball down, mix it up, keep them on their toes. We tried not to give up that big hit.
"This has got to give us some motivation to get on the road."
Hawaii leaves tomorrow for the Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Wahine also have a doubleheader at UNC-Greensboro on April 1 then open Western Athletic Conference play with doubleheaders April 4-5 at Fresno State.
"We played four different days and we saw four different teams come out," said Hawaii coach Bob Coolen. "When I talked to the team (after Saturday's two losses), I called them a 'wannabe' team. They want to beat good teams, beat ranked teams like Ohio State. But they don't want to work hard all the time. They have a problem with consistency.
"But this was a very good win for us to take on the road. We've been waiting for the bats to explode, waiting for those home runs. Now we need to keep it going."
Porter finished 3-for-4 with 3 RBI en route to finishing as the most outstanding player. Rowlands was the only Buckeye to pair hits (2-for-3).
Pacific 1, Wisconsin 0 (10): Somebody had to lose the outstanding pitchers' dual. It ended up being the Badgers' Andrea Kirchberg, who struck out 12 and gave up six hits in the 10-inning loss.
It was UOP's sixth hit off Kirchberg that got things started. Crystal Presson singled down the right-field line and was replaced by pinch runner Krystle Peterson.
Peterson moved to second on a walk to Barbra Moody then to third on a sacrifice bunt by Brittany Hyams.
Peterson scored the game-winner on Kristen Allen's sacrifice fly to left.
Wisconsin had the tying run at second with two outs but Tiger pitcher Jennifer Dacre struck out Meghann Reiss to end the game. Dacre finished with a one-hitter, walking seven and striking out five.
Pacific 7, Tokyo 1: The Tigers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first and never looked back against the Japanese team.
Punahou product Estee Okumura's 2-run double highlighted UOP's five-hit inning. Tokyo scored a run in the first on Sayaka Fujikawa's RBI-double but Tiger pitcher Natalie King gave up only one hit after that in picking up the victory.
Ahead 5-1, Pacific added to its lead with a two-run homer in the seventh by Aloha Yamaguchi, who prepped at University Lab School.
All-Tournament: Besides Porter, named to the team were: Annie Dedic (OSU), April Crowell (UH), Kumi Nakano (Tokyo), Aloha Yamaguchi (UOP), Crystal Presson (UOP), Sayaka Fujikawa (Tokyo), Diana Consolmagno (UW), Tracie Uchima (UH), Kate Judd (UH), Jennifer Dacre (UOP), and Andrea Kirchberg UW).
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