Box Score

HONOLULU—The University of Hawaii softball team dropped its season opener to McNeese State tonight, 2-1 in their first game of the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

 

Hawaii's starting pitcher Stephanie Ricketts threw a complete game in the loss, giving up two runs on five hits with seven walks and five strike outs.

 

McNeese State's starter, rookie Meagan Bond made a strong statement in her first collegiate game. She also threw a complete game, yielding just one run on five hits with 11 strike outs and three walks.

 

The Cowgirls struck first, jumping out to a quick 1-0 lead to start the game. Claire Terracina led the game off with chopping single to short. She moved to second on a sacrifice bunt to third, and then scored on a sharp single to short that bounced past the leftfielder to score Terracina from second easily.

 

In the fourth inning, McNeese State extended their lead to 2-0 after a two-out double off the leftfield fence by Dani Price which drove in Marissa Koetting, who had walked to start the inning.

 

The 'Bows responded by cutting the lead in half in the bottom of the fourth. Makani Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu and Melissa Gonzalez led the inning off with back-to-back singles. After a strike out, Jessica Iwata hit a fielder's choice to short, and the Cowgirls erased Gonzalez on the force at second, leaving runners at the corners. Katie Grimes then came through with a hard-hit single that ricocheted off a diving second baseman allowing pinch runner Brynne Buchanan to score from third.

 

Gonzalez led the 'Bows at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a walk.

 

The Paradise Classic continues tomorrow, with four games on tap. The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will face McNeese State in the first game of the day at 1:00 pm. The Cowgirls will then face No. 10 Stanford at 3:00 pm. Then Hawaii will play the final two games of the night. First they will face TAMUCC at 5:00 pm and then Stanford in the night's final game at 7:00 pm.

 

In the first game of the tournament, Stanford overwhelmed TAMUCC, 10-2 in five innings.
Box Score