Cara Capuano sounded like her dog just died.

The bad news?

Jenna Rodriguez's home run ... “;to send Hawaii to the Women's College World Series,”; which ESPN's play-by-play announcer emitted with all the positivity associated with, say, “;I'm going to get a root canal today.”;

It wasn't the words in her call of Rodriguez's blast to beat Alabama and punch UH's first ticket to Oklahoma City that rankled some folks. It was the tone. Monotone — not excited and upbeat, like when Alabama's Whitney Larsen homered to put the Tide up.

This was No. 16 beating No. 1, at their place. This was one of the biggest upsets in college softball history.

Hawaii fans have a thin collective skin, so I made sure to listen to it again and again. But yes, it's there — as well as plenty of little digs at UH throughout the broadcast, many from analyst Michele Smith, a former Olympic pitcher who admits she's not a big fan of softball's new power surge, which kind of makes you not a fan of UH by default.

They researched Hawaii some, but it was obvious they knew much more about Alabama. Natural, since they've covered the Tide many times, and 'Bama makes more info easily available. Capuano, who handles SEC softball as a regular assignment, said this was the first time she saw the Rainbow Wahine.

Overall, this seems more about pro-Alabama than anti-UH.

Capuano submitted to an interview knowing the topic, so give her credit for accountability. Our half-hour conversation was cordial and she addressed the concern. “;I'm sorry if you or any Hawaii fans interpreted (the tone of the call) as disappointment. It certainly wasn't my intention.

“;It was so surprising. Two strikeouts just happened. Jenna Rodriguez was barely in the batter's box and the ball was gone,”; Capuano said, then, explaining a fairly long pause (not uncommon in calls of dramatic homers). “;I wanted to let that moment develop and let the audience enjoy it.”;

There's more from my talk with Capuano, as well as one with Rodriguez, on the Quick Reads blog.

“;(The call) sounded kind of biased, but there's nothing you can do about that,”; Rodriguez said, as UH prepares to open against Missouri tomorrow. “;That's just how it is sometimes.”;

Is it a motivating force? “;Definitely.”;

How would the communications major have done it?

“;Jenna Rodriguez, with the game-winning home run against Kelsi Dunne and Alabama, the No. 1 seed in the tournament! The walk-off has silenced the 'Bama fans and Hawaii's 20 fans here are going wild as Jenna's teammates await her at home plate!”;

Not bad.

Here's what some pros would've said:

“;I don't believe what I just didn't see! Softball moves too fast!”; — Jack Buck

“;Another shot of Jack! Howzit, OKC!”; — Neil Everett

“;The Wahine win the series! The Wahine win the series! The Wahine win the series!”; — Russ Hodges

“;I have never previously witnessed a more fortuitous performance nestled within the crucible of athletic competition resulting in such an undeniably positive outcome for the University of Hawaii at Manoa.”; — Jim Leahey

“;Another J-Bomb! From J-Rod!”; — John Sterling

“;Home run, Shawon Ernie Rodriguez. Get me another beer, kid.”; — Harry Caray

“;Aloha means goodbye, y'all.”; — Larry Beil

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Reach Star-Bulletin sports columnist Dave Reardon at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), his “;Quick Reads”; blog at starbulletin.com, and twitter.com/davereardon.