[ WAHINE SOFTBALL ]
Rainbow Wahine see it
all in senior-night
doubleheader split
A Western Athletic Conference softball split didn't diminish senior night for the Rainbow Wahine softball team.
Hawaii got a little of everything against Louisiana Tech in its home finale, with strange plays, big home runs and bizarre mistakes. Before a crowd of 250 at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium, UH dropped the first game 5-4 but held on for a 5-3 win in the second game to allow senior night to be a celebration.
Following the doubleheader, the team serenaded seniors April Crowell, Justina Kahaku, Marie Jackson and Kea Yamaguchi with a song written by freshman Alana Power. With Power strumming the guitar, the seniors alternately laughed and cried as they listened to the details of their career in song before taking their final stroll around the bases. Each of the seniors felt different emotions coursing through them as the final innings of their last home game wound down.
"It's the way the ball rolls," said Kahaku, who caught the last out of the game. "We had some that rolled our way and some that didn't. We played our hearts out and that's all you can ask for.
"I was tearing up during the singing. We felt the game needed a bit of intensity. It got a little close there, but I knew we'd pull through."
The Wahine seniors have junior Denise Dahlberg to thank for making their last home game a win. Dahlberg went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Shannon Tabion scattered five hits and struck out three to improve to 16-9.
"I promised April before the game I'd hit a dinger," Dahlberg said. "I promised her three days ago, so I had to go out and take care of that for her. They're fun. They're always smiling. There's no negativity in the class at all."
The Wahine (26-31, 8-12 Western Athletic Conference) attacked early in the second game, scoring two runs off pitcher Kristin Blodgette in the first inning. Hawaii took advantage of a costly Lady Techsters error in the second inning. With two outs, Dahlberg flied out to center to end the inning, but an inaccurate defensive lineup card gave her a second chance at the plate.
Blodgette's position was not listed on the lineup card, so the game reverted back to the last batter after the mistake was caught. Dahlberg made Louisiana Tech (25-28, 8-7) pay dearly. She drilled a 2-0 pitch out of the park for a three-run bomb to push Hawaii's lead to 5-0. It was her ninth home run of the season and Hawaii needed it, as Louisiana Tech rallied for three runs in the seventh.
"(The play) was up and down. I don't think it mattered to anyone just as long as we were all together," Crowell said. "I don't think it mattered if we won or not. I'm glad we won the second game. We couldn't do any worse."
There were many missed opportunities for the Wahine, who stranded eight runners in the first game. The first inning was an indication of an up-and-down outing by Wahine hurler Melissa Coogan.
Amber Miles singled to center on Coogan's first pitch of the day. Coogan struck out the next two batters, but Ashley Cameron's single to center scored Miles before Mary Cohn struck out swinging. The Lady Techsters added a run each in the third and fourth innings to go up 3-0.
Hawaii finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Shortstop Ashley Ruff drove a 3-2 pitch over the left-field wall for her sixth jack of the season. Crowell followed in the bottom of the fifth with her fourth homer of the season. Her solo blast brought Hawaii within one at 3-2. The Wahine evened the score when Jennifer Hacket lined a single to center to score Ruff, who drew a walk to start the bottom of the sixth.
But Coogan was shaky in the seventh inning. She retired two of the first three batters before walking the next two to get herself into a bases-loaded jam. Senior Jennifer LaRussa broke a 3-3 tie with a two-run double in the top of the seventh to put Louisiana Tech back up for good.