As the No. 4 seed after two days of tournament play, Seattle U faced Hawaii, the No. 1 seed in the tournament in the second of two semifinal games. The earlier semifinal game featured the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, UMKC and DePaul. Hawaii (5-0) came away with an incredible 21-0 win in five innings of play.
Hawaii had strong at bats from the very beginning, scoring 10 runs on 10 hits in the first inning alone. Leadoff batter Kelly Majam doubled down the right field line, followed by a Kayla Wartner double to left center, scoring Majam. Sarah Robinson then singled to center field, advancing Wartner to third. Jessica Iwata singled through the right side, advancing Robinson to second and batting in Wartner. Alexandra Aguirre singled to right center, advancing Iwata to second and Robinson to third. Sharla Kliebenstein singled to second base, advancing Aguirre to second and bringing in Robinson. Leisha Li'ili'i reached second base on a fielder's choice and Aguirre then advanced to third. Makani Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu then singled through the right side, advancing Li'ili'i to second and scoring Aguirre. Dara Pagaduan singled to shortshop, Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu advanced to second, and Li'ili'i advanced to third. With the bases again loaded, two walks brought in two more runs as Li'ili'I scored on a Majam walk and Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu scored on a Wartner walk. Robinson singled to right field, batting in Majam and Pagaduan. Iwata doubled to right center, advancing to third on the throw, and bringing in Robinson and Wartner. The Redhawks were then able to get the final out to end the high-scoring first inning for the Rainbow Wahine.
Hawaii continued the scoring drive in the second inning, scoring four more runs. Kleibenstein scored the first run of the inning on a Pagaduan single to left center. Li'ili'i then scored when Wartner was walked with the bases loaded. Buchanan and Burton also scored on an Iwata single to left field.
The Rainbow Wahine threw their final punch in the fourth inning, adding seven more runs to their total. Jazmine Zamora scored on a fielding error and Buchanan then scored on a Rachel Paragas single up the middle. Kleibenstein added three more runs with a three RBI home run to left field, batting in Paragas and Kaile Nakao. Li'ili'i added a home run of her own, also to left field. Jocelyn Enrique scored the final run of the game on a Zamora ground out to the pitcher.
Kaia Parnaby got the start and the win for the Rainbow Wahine, allowing only three hits and striking out eight in the five-inning win.
Jessica Ulrich (Lewiston, Idaho) got the start for the Redhawks and then came back in later in the contest, as Mandie Sugita (Rossmoor, Calif.) came in at relief mid-way through the first inning.
The Redhawks moved to the consolation game to face UMKC in their second game of the day. UMKC (2-3) put a run on the board in the second, third, and fourth innings, and despite a near comeback by Seattle U, the Kangaroos came away victorious, 3-2.
In the bottom of the second inning, Ashley Whiteside ran in for the first score of the contest on a Cinda Ramos groundout to first. The Redhawks were able to strand two UMKC runners on base to prevent further scoring.
In the bottom of the third inning, with the bases loaded, UMKC's Anna Sokolik scored an unearned run on a Caitlin Christopher single to left field to give the Kangaroos a two run lead.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, two sacrifice bunts by Kelly Fischer and Kaelene Curry moved Bri Wyatt to third. Wyatt scored the Kangaroos' third run as Megan Ussary singled through the left side.
The Redhawks attempted the comeback, putting two runs on the board in the sixth inning. Brianna Guerrero (Buena Park, Calif.) singled through the left side and Bubba Morrow (Auburn, Wash.) homered to right center. The Redhawks, however, were unable to put any more runs on the board and the contest ended with a 3-2 score.
Ramos got the start and the win for the Kangaroos and allowed only two earned runs, while striking out three.
Ulrich started her second contest of the day for the Redhawks, this time pitching the entire game. She allowed only three runs (two earned runs), walked one, and struck out two.
"The team rebounded after a tough loss to Hawaii," said Seattle U head coach Dan Powers. "I was very proud of how we responded [in] the second game."
Sarah Petosa (Auburn, Wash.) represented the Redhawks on the All-Tournament team. Petosa finished the tournament with five hits and a .313 batting avg. Hawaii's Sarah Robinson received the MVP award and Stephanie Ricketts, also hailing from Hawaii, received the Most Valuable Pitcher award for the tournament.
The Redhawks (0-5) face Santa Clara in their next game on Friday, Feb. 24 as part of the PCSC Crossover Tournament in Moraga, Calif.