The University of Hawaii at Hilo softball team was in dire need of a rally Monday in the bottom of the sixth when Emily Greene led off with a hit and Melanie Morelos walked, putting two runners on with no
The University of Hawaii at Hilo softball team was in dire need of a rally Monday in the bottom of the sixth when Emily Greene led off with a hit and Melanie Morelos walked, putting two runners on with no outs.
In lieu of a bunt or a hit-and-run, coach Peejay Brun decided to wait for a big hit.
That wait is still ongoing, because timely hitting was hard to come by for the Vulcans in a pair of 2-0 losses to Dixie State at UH-Hilo softball field.
“We had a couple of chances and didn’t finish,” Brun said. “And you can’t do that against the top team in the conference.”
In getting swept for the first time in Pacific West Conference play, the Vulcans (12-9, 7-4 PacWest) wasted fine pitching performances from Vanessa Salinas and Danielle Wilson, who both went the distance against the Red Storm (19-5, 10-0).
Salinas (7-5) allowed eight hits and walked one with five strikeouts, while Wilson (5-4) surrendered four hits.
She walked four and yielded one earned run with two strikeouts.
“I couldn’t have asked for more from them,” Brun said.
She couldn’t say the same about her hitters, save for Colleen Aubrey. Batting leadoff, the senior collected three hits in the second game, when the Vulcans stranded eight runners on base against Aryn Feickert (7-0), who struck out six.
Michelle Duncan (11-0) tossed a two-hitter with six strikeouts in the opener for Dixie State.
“One of the problems is we couldn’t get the right hitter up at the right time,” Brun said.
As for playing small-ball, Brun said, “We’ll still try to mix it up, but it was tough when we fell behind.”
The Red Storm’s Courtney Hine had two hits and scored a run as Dixie went ahead with runs in the second and third in the first game. In the the second game, Hine had a run-scoring single during the Red Storm’s two-run third.
Brun will give the Vulcans the day off Tuesday before they get in two days of practice ahead of Friday and Saturday home doubleheaders against California Baptist.
The first order of business at practice?
“We’re going to work on our pressure hitting,” Brun said. “It might not be fun for them, but it will be fun for me to watch.”
