Wahine survive
to play todayIt takes 11 innings on a hot day,
but Hawaii gets past Northwestern 1-0
and will face Arizona State next
AUSTIN, Texas >> The heat was at times suffocating and caused sweat to ooze from every pore.
UH softball
What: NCAA Region 3Next: vs. Arizona State
When: Today, 8 a.m. Hawaii time
Radio: Live, KKEA 1420-AM
And the weather was hot, too.
Although temperatures reached into the 90s and humidity was high, that paled in comparison to the hot seat that Hawaii pitcher Melissa Coogan was frequently on against Northwestern in an NCAA Region 3 softball tournament elimination game yesterday at the University of Texas' McCombs Field.
But throughout 11 grueling innings, Coogan kept her cool and routinely worked out of jams - once with a triple play - to stem the tide until Trisha Ramos drove in Stacey Porter to lift the Wahine to a 1-0 victory.
The Wahine (39-19) advanced to face Arizona State in another elimination game today at 8 a.m. Hawaii time.
Coogan (31-10) threw her second straight shutout, but needed some clutch pitching - and some very good luck - to keep Northwestern (36-19) off the scoreboard.
Northwestern left the bases loaded in the first inning and stranded runners at third in the fourth and sixth innings, but the seventh was undoubtedly the most frustrating.
The Wildcats threatened to break a scoreless tie as Sheila McCorkle reached on an error and Erin Mobley singled up the middle to open the inning.
But both runners were caught straying off base when Porter, the Wahine first baseman, reached down to her shoe tops to snag a line-drive bunt by Brett Nakabayashi.
She then threw to Noelle Izumi covering first to get Mobley. Izumi then relayed the throw to center fielder Marie Jackson covering second for the third out.
It was the third triple play Hawaii has turned this season.
"I figured that triple play was a good omen for us," Hawaii coach Bob Coolen said. "They had the meat of their order coming up and they could have done some real damage."
The damage was done to Northwestern.
"We had some fast players on base, but I think there was some confusion as to whether or not the ball hit the ground," Northwestern coach Kate Drohan said. "We were very aggressive on the bases on that play and Hawaii did a great job of getting the ball to first and second before we could recover."
However, Northwestern pitcher Lauren Schwendimann (10-8) was doing a great job of denying the Wahine, allowing only seven hits and not letting a runner past second base until the 11th inning.
That was especially impressive because she had already pitched 513 innings in a 3-1 loss to Southwest Texas State, which immediately preceded the game against Hawaii.
She pitched more than 16 innings in 90-degree heat, but wasn't feeling the effects that Coogan was.
"As the innings went on I could feel it wearing on my arm, but I just tried to keep up my speed and keep (pitches) in the strike zone," Coogan said. "I could sense that my ball was slowing down and not moving as much.
"Pretty much after the seventh and eighth innings I was going out there and thinking 'Can't we score one run? We only need one run.' "
Porter provided it.
She hit a drive that got past Nakabayashi in left field for a double and then went to third on a wild pitch.
Then with two out, Ramos, who was hitless in four previous at-bats, slapped the first pitch from Schwendimann back through the box to drive in Porter with the game-winning run.
Notes: The triple play Hawaii turned in the seventh was its third of the season, and third all-time. The previous two were against Louisville and San Jose State, the latter ending a game. ... Coogan's outing was the longest of her career, surpassing her previous high of 10 innings against Tulsa earlier this season. ... UH went 11 innings at Fresno State on April 14, 2001, losing 2-1. The last time a UH game lasted longer was a 13-inning, 2-0 loss to Utah in the 1999 WAC tournament. ... The Rainbow Wahine are 2-3 against the Pac-10 this season, with wins against California and Oregon State and losses to Washington (2) and UCLA.
Hawaii 1, Northwestern 0
Northwestern 000 000 000 00 - 0 9 2 Hawaii 000 000 000 01 - 1 7 1 Lauren Schwendimann and J.C. Kira; Melissa Coogan and Denise Dahlberg. W - Coogan; L - Schwendimann.
Leading hitters - NW: Erin Mobley 3-5; Kristen Amegin 2-3; Robyn Pettinger 2-4. UH: Justina Kahaku 2-3, 2b; Stacy Porter 2b, RBI.
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