ISLE FILE
Titcomb helps UH gain softball split with San Jose
Advertiser Staff
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The University of Hawai'i softball team earned a doubleheader split played to different extremes, losing 2-1 in eight innings against San Jose State and then winning 20-0 in five innings yesterday in San Jose, Calif.
In the opener, Liz Perez scored the winning run when she raced from first on Kasey Igarta's double and right fielder Richie-Anne Titcomb's errant throw. UH's Justine Smethurst had a career-high 12 strikeouts in the loss.
Titcomb made up for the error in the second game, hitting a grand slam in an 11-run second inning. The Rainbow Wahine's first nine batters of the inning scored runs.
Titcomb also hit a double and single. "I decided to stay on my backfoot (while batting)," Titcomb said of her second-game adjustment. "When I put pressure on my front foot, I tend to lunge."
Starting pitcher Kate Robinson hit her 13th home run of the season and drove in four runs. She allowed two hits in five innings to improve to 11-0.
MORE SOFTBALL
HPU, HILO ADVANCE
Hawai'i Pacific won 2 of 3 games yesterday to finish first in its pool at the 20-team Mizuno Tournament of Champions in Turlock, Calif.
The Sea Warriors (22-7) finished 4-1 in pool play to advance to today's Gold Division playoffs. Hawai'i-Hilo (27-6), which won its pool with a 3-2 record, also will compete in the Gold playoffs.
Chaminade (7-29) will compete in the Bronze Division playoffs despite losing all five of its pool play games because it won a tiebreaker. Brigham Young-Hawai'i (15-18) did not clinch a berth in today's playoffs after finishing with a 1-4 record and losing in a tiebreaker.
Hawai'i Pacific won its first four games of the tournament before losing, 1-0, last night in extra innings to Sonoma State.
Sonoma State's Lindsay Emmel pitched a five-hitter with 12 strikeouts to win a duel with HPU's Sherise Musquiz, who allowed five hits and struck out three.
Scoreless after seven innings, the international tiebreaker rule was put into effect, placing a runner on second base to begin each half of the eighth. Sonoma State's Britni Geary was sacrificed to third, then scored on Claire Hiney's sacrifice fly.
HPU had the tying run on third after a one-out single, but Emmel got the final two batters to pop out.
Earlier in the day, the Sea Warriors edged San Francisco State, 10-9, and crushed Chico State, 10-2.
Cierra Senas hit a three-run homer in the top of the seventh to help beat San Francisco State. Krystal Plunkett added two hits and three RBIs.
Nicole Kalakau had three hits and four RBIs to help beat Chico State. Tajia Acierto added three hits and two RBIs, and Courtney Kessell pitched a six-inning five-hitter with four strikeouts for the Sea Warriors.
In other tournament games:
BASEBALL
HILO SPLITS TWINBILL
Joe Davis pitched a three-hitter and Ryan Taiariol hit a two-run single to spice a three-run third inning as Hawai'i-Hilo defeated Air Force, 3-2, yesterday to complete a sweep of a non-conference doubleheader at Wong Stadium.
Davis struck out three, walked two and both Air Force runs were unearned.
The Vulcans improved to 9-24 while the Falcons, who won the first game 7-0 behind Jake Petro's four-hitter, fell to 5-24.
TENNIS
WAC HONORS WEBER
University of Hawaii's Andreas Weber was named the Western Athletic Conference men's Player of the Week.
Weber, a freshman from Huenfeld, Germany, won three singles matches and posted two doubles wins, at the No. 1 position. Weber, ranked 60th in the nation, beat Guillaume Tonelli of WAC foe Nevada, 6-2, 6-0, on March 18, Alex Slovic of Washington, 7-6 (4), 6-4, on March 21, and No. 20 Pierre Mouillon of California, 6-2, 6-2, on March 26.
In doubles, Weber teamed with sophomore Sascha Heinemann to defeat Guillaume Tonelli and Laurent Garcin of Nevada, 9-8 (5) on March 18, and 17th-ranked Markus Dickhardt and Christian Groh of San Diego State 9-8 (2) on March 24.
Weber was 19-6 overall and 10-2 in dual match singles play at the time of his selection.
BASKETBALL
MAUI REAPS MILLIONS
Last year's EA SPORTS Maui Invitational basketball tournament contributed $8.5 million to the local economy, according to financial data released by the Maui Visitors Bureau.
The nation's premier early-season college basketball tournament, hosted by Chaminade University, and featuring elite teams, is staged during Thanksgiving week at Lahaina Civic.
This year's field, to be held Nov. 19 to 21, will feature Arizona State, Duke, Illinois, LSU, Marquette, Oklahoma State and Princeton.
Since the tournament's debut in 1984, the tournament has contributed an estimated $120 million.
WHITING HONORED
Chaminade senior point guard Zack Whiting was named honorable mention All-American by the Division II Bulletin, the monthly newsletter of Division II basketball.
Whiting was among 17 finalists for the prestigious Bob Cousy Award, which was awarded to Texas A&M's Acie Law yesterday.
TRACK AND FIELD
MURRAY QUALIFIES
University of Hawai'i's Novelle Murray threw the hammer 184 feet, 1 inch at the Stanford Invitational yesterday to qualify for the NCAA regionals.
Murray, a senior from Surrey, British Columbia, finished sixth in the event.
Junior Meghan Weaver, who threw the hammer 146-7, threw the shot a season-best 45-6 1/4.
Junior Chantelle Laan ran a personal-best in the 1,500, finishing in 4 minutes, 38.29 seconds.
RADIO
WILSON JOINS 1420
Longtime broadcaster Ken Wilson will join ESPN 1420, providing Major League Baseball analysis, including a weekly show on Fridays, starting April 6, the station announced.
Wilson, who began his professional baseball broadcasting career calling Hawaii Islanders games in the 1970s, also will be a contributor to ESPN 1420's two local daily talk shows.
He will host a one-hour weekly show, "Wilson On Baseball," every Friday at 2 p.m. The show will highlight the station's coverage of San Francisco Giants baseball and the station's ESPN Sunday Night Baseball games.
Wilson will continue to be the voice of Hawaii Winter Baseball.
WRESTLING
IOKIA, PASCUA MEDAL
Hawai'i's Shyla Iokia and Cherae Pascua medaled last weekend at the Missouri Valley Showcase in Marshall, Mo. Both wrestlers train at the United States Olympic Education Center.
Iokia won the gold medal in the 59-kilogram (130 pounds) senior division. Pascua took silver at 55 kilograms (121 pounds).
