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“Malia threw a really good game (the first day),” Nakasone
said. “She kept the ball down, and I think that was the biggest
asset. She let her defense work for her, and we turned a couple
of double plays and got her out of some bad innings.
“She got in trouble at the very end when the rain started to
come. She lost control a little bit, but she regained it in
time, fortunately for us, we won that one.
“The rain is crazy,” Sullivan added. “It makes it hard to hold
on to the ball. You have no pitch whatsoever, so you have to
hold it as tight as you can and throw it in there. Hopefully
you’ll get a strike and not hit the batter.”
HPU sophomore center fielder Jamie Reyes had four RBIs, one
a sacrifice fly in the second inning and the other three from
a bases loaded triple in the fourth. “Jamie hit the ball well
in the first game,” said Nakasone.
Sophomore catcher Anuhea Diamond went 2-2 and scored a run
for the Lady Sea Warriors. Yellowjackets freshman left fielder
Christi Wankel and sophomore designated hitter Theresa Campbell
each had hits on Sullivan. MSUB got a complete game from sophomore
Megan McCrae, who allowed five hits, five runs, four earned,
and six walks while striking out four.
The second game spanned three days and 10 innings. HPU won
6-5. Down 5-2 in the fourth, they chipped away at the lead with
two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh off a Holly Garcia
game-tying line drive homer to left field. Diamond and MSUB’s
senior infielder Meghen O’Donnel were 3-5 with an RBI each.
HPU junior Jessica Parra started the second game but after
four MSUB runs on four hits with three walks, she was replaced
by sophomore Mallory Anderson, who finished the game, allowing
one earned run, 10 hits and one walk while fanning five. Anderson
had to come back to finish the job two days later after rain
suspended action in the top of the fifth.
Action was called off on Feb. 22 because the field was too
soggy.
“Coming back showed that we had a lot of character,” Said Nakasone.
“Hopefully we can keep that up.” Sophomore Joey Ehnes, in a
complete game, took the loss for the yellowjackets, allowing
six runs, four earned, on 12 hits and six walks with seven strike
outs.
The third game was a pitching rematch between Sullivan and
McCrae, and the Sea Warriors lost it 2-4.
In the final game, HPU went up 1-0 in the first inning when
senior second baseman Tascha Berinobis doubled to center off
of McCrae with two outs and then was driven home by a Garcia
double to right. McCrae and Parra allowed a run each for their
respective teams in the second. Sophomore Jordan Waverek replaced
McCrae in the top of the third. McCrae went two innings and
allowed two earned runs on four hits and four walks with one
strike out. HPU scored the final run of the game and the series
in the third inning when Diamond doubled to left field, driving
in sophomore Keanolani Puchalski. For the Lady Sea Warriors,
Garcia was 2-of-3 with a walk and an RBI, Berinobis was 2-of-4
with a run and Diamond was 1-of-1 with two walks, a run and
an RBI. Hanley, T. Ehnes, Wankel and Pavey got hits on Parra.
Parra (3-0) allowed a run, none earned, on four hits and three
walks, with three strike outs, in a complete game while Waverek,
in four innings, allowed an earned run on two hits and two walks.
Nakasone said that he was pleased with HPU’s overall defense
and pitching but that higher concentration is needed when batting,
especially with runners on, as HPU left more than 10 runners
on base in three of the four games.
“This was a really good series between the two teams,” said
Jeff Aumend, MSUB’s only coach since its inception. “For us
to come in here and compete with an established program like
HPU is good for us.”
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