Krissi Oliver pitched a six-hitter to help Louisiana Tech surprise Hawai'i, 2-1, in the opening round of the Western Athletic Conference Softball Tournament at Rainbow Wahine Stadium last night.

The outcome banished the Rainbow Wahine (33-18) to the losers' bracket of the double-elimination tournament.

The short-handed Rainbows will be without Courtney Baughman, one of their two starting pitchers, for the rest of the tournament. Baughman has an undisclosed medical condition.

"Courtney is not with us," Coolen said. "She's not here. She's not on the bench. ... She's just not with us. She's unable to play. That's what's going on right now."

That leaves Kate Robinson, who allowed both of the Lady Techsters' runs yesterday, as the Rainbows' only available starting pitcher. Jessica Morton has been used exclusively as a reliever the past two weeks, and freshman Melissa Gonzalez has been deemed too inexperienced.

"The whole tournament will not be easy for us," UH coach Bob Coolen said. "We basically have Kate and Jess, and that's it."

The Techsters opened the scoring on Regan Clark's RBI double in the first.

They made it 2-0 in the second when when Oliver homered on an 0-2 change-up.

The Rainbows closed to 2-1 on Robinson's leadoff homer in the bottom of the seventh. One out later, shortstop Valana Manuma was hit by a pitch. She advanced to third on second baseman Richie-Anne Titcomb's line double to the left-field corner.

"I was trying to keep my composure," Oliver said. "I was concentrating on trying to get the batter, and not worry about the runners."

Oliver induced Gonzalez, who was pinch-hitting for Audrey Andrade, to line out to left field.

Then Katie Grimes hit an opposite-field blooper to right. Outfielder Lyndsey McIlwain raced in to make the sliding catch for the game's final out.

"That's where she pitched the ball, so that's where I went with it," Grimes said.

McIlwain is essentially a designated fielder; her spot in the batting order is taken by designated player Jessica Kirby.

"Diving is my thing," said McIlwain, who earlier made a sprawling catch. "That's my part. I don't get to hit. I do what I can in right field."

Oliver said: "I'll hit for her so she catches for me all day long."

Oliver baffled the Rainbows with a menu of screwballs, risers, drops and change-ups.

In the first six innings, the Rainbows' leadoff hitter failed to reach base. Six times, the Rainbows made one-pitch outs. In the first six innings, Oliver threw strikes on 42 of 62 pitches.

"I've always been taught, if you don't get (a strike) on the first (pitch), get the second one," Oliver said. "Always start ahead of the batter. That's how you work them. That's what I tried to do."

The Rainbows tried to break Oliver's rhythm. One tactic was to wait for her go on the mound before stepping into the batter's box. "We wanted to feel a little more in control," Robinson said.

That will come, Robinson noted, when the Rainbows redeem scoring opportunities.

"We keep saying, 'Next game we'll get it,' " Robinson said. "We're out of 'next games.' If we're not going to bring in these runs, we're done. We're running out of time."

LOUISIANA TECH (32-27) 110 000 0—2 5 0

HAWAI'I (33-18) 000 000 1—1 6 1

Krissi Oliver and Regan Clark. Kate Robinson and Katie Grimes. W—Oliver (17-13). L—Robinson (16-7).

Leading hitters—LT: Clark double; Oliver homer. UH: Robinson 2-3.

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