Boxscore

HONOLULU, Hawaii - For the second consecutive day, Louisiana Tech split a Western Athletic Conference doubleheader with Hawaii late Saturday night as the Lady Techsters won 5-4 in the first contest before falling 5-3 in the nightcap.

In the first game of the day, Tech (25-28, 8-7 WAC) scored five runs on nine hits and held off a late Hawaii rally to record the victory. Senior Marla Pinkston evened her season record at 15-15, allowing Hawaii four runs on 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings of work before freshman Kristin Blodgette recorded the final two outs of the game for her third save of the season.

The Techsters scored single runs in the tops of the first, third and fourth innings to grab a 3-0 lead before the Rainbow Wahine (26-31, 8-12 WAC) started their comeback. With the game tied 3-3 heading into the top of the seventh inning, the Lady Techsters scored two huge runs.

Junior Amber Miles led the inning off with a single and after the next two Tech batters were retired, Miles stole second base. Bridget Broadnax and Mary Cohn followed with walks to load the bases before senior first baseman Jen LaRussa answered with a two-run double to right field, giving Tech a 5-3 lead.

In the bottom half of the inning, Hawaii's first two batters reached base before Tech recorded its first out. With runners on first and third with one out, Hawaii scored a run by executing a double steal, closing the Techster lead to 5-4. After Pinkston walked the next batter, Blodgette came on in relief and forced Stacey Ritter to line into a double play to second to end the game.

Miles led Tech with three hits, two runs scored and two more steals while LaRussa added two hits and a season-high three RBI.

In game two of the doubleheader, Hawaii jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two innings before holding off a late Tech rally. The Rainbow Wahine scored two runs in the first inning one two hits and one Tech error and then added three more in the bottom of the second inning on a three-run home run by Denise Dahlberg.

However, Blodgette (3-5) settled down and held Hawaii to only two hits the rest of the game, giving her team an opportunity to come back. The Techsters made some noise in the top of the seventh inning, scoring three runs on two hits and two Rainbow Wahine errors. With the Techsters trailing 5-3 with two outs and the potential tying runs on second and third, Hawaii starter Shannon Tabion retired the final batter to preserve the win.

Miles once again led Tech offensively with two hits and one steal while Broadnax, LaRussa and Allison White each added one base hit.

Tech returns to action Tuesday when the Techsters travel to face San Diego State in a single game at 5 p.m. CST.