By MATT GERHART Tribune-Herald sports writer ADVERTISING The University of Hawaii at Hilo’s Ashley Nelson spends a lot of time in the circle with her head down. The Cal State Stanislaus hitters facing her have been leaving the batter’s box
By MATT GERHART
Tribune-Herald sports writer
The University of Hawaii at Hilo’s Ashley Nelson spends a lot of time in the circle with her head down.
The Cal State Stanislaus hitters facing her have been leaving the batter’s box the same way.
The freshman left-hander with the quirky delivery continued the strong start to her college softball career Thursday, throwing a three-hitter and earning a one-out save as the Vulcans swept a doubleheader at UHH Softball Field. Aisha Sueda homered and collected the game-winning RBI in first game as the Vulcans won 2-1, then Amber Waracka rebounded from a shaky outing in the season opener and pitched UHH to a 4-1 victory.
Nelson (2-0) stares at the ground during her windup, seemingly only looking up just as she’s about to release the ball.
“I look down and then pitch, because I now what I’m going to do,” she said, “but I look up before I let it go. It’s what I’ve always done.”
Nelson doesn’t think the no-look windup has much of an effect on hitters, just her pitches. In her first start for UHH (3-1) she had her full repertoire working against Stanislaus, striking out six without walking a batter. After hitting a batter in the fifth, she retired the final hitters she faced.
“All my pitches were working” she said. “My slider was by far my best.”
The Vuls needed an arm to complement Waracka after losing Christina Pedroza to graduation last season, and so far the San Diego native has stepped right in. Nelson tossed 4 2/3 shutout innings of relief Tuesday in a split against Stanislaus (4-7) and has allowed only six hits in 12 innings pitched.
UHH coach Jaime Wallin compared her to “Nuke LaLoosh,” Tim Robbin’s character in the 1988 baseball movie “Bull Durham.”
“Every pitcher is unique in her style and it works for her,” Wallin said. “She’s kind of oblivious to stuff that’s going on around her and she just goes out there and pitches. It doesn’t matter the circumstances.
“She’s really tough against left-handed hitters, and she’s got a pitch that breaks in on the right-handed hitters, and I think that makes her equally challenging.”
Equally encouraging to Wallin was the performance of Sueda, a Hilo High graduate who hit just .231 last season. The senior second baseman was 2 for 3 and provided all of the Vulcans’ offense out of the cleanup spot. She homered to left field in the second inning and drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth with a one-out single to center to score senior Bryanna Hardy, who doubled to open the inning.
Brittani Weatherford (2-2) yielded only three hits but took the loss, striking out five with two walks in six innings.
Sueda also had a run-scoring single in the second game, and Wallin says her hot start this season — 6 for 12 with five RBIs — is the product of hard work and a change in mechanics.
“She had a tremendous fall and was really ready to go and focused, hitting the weights and preparing herself,” the second-year coach said. “She’s staying inside the ball better, taking that inside pitch to left-center field, and that was something she wasn’t doing last year.”
Waracka struck out six and yielded five hits and three walks in the second game, working around Jordan Flora’s solo home run in the fifth inning.
Sophomore Angeline Cruz doubled and scored during a two-run fourth, junior catcher Brittany Spencer was 1 for 2 with a double and a run scored senior shortstop Nicole Alconcel scored two runs.
In three innings, the Warriors’ Natalie Rendon (2-2) gave up three runs — two earned — on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
One out from a complete game, Waracka walked two batters before Nelson came in to retire Weatherford on a pop up.
Game 1
Stanislaus 000 100 0 —1 3 0
UHH 010 001 x —2 3 0
Game 2
Stanislaus 000 001 0 —1 5 2
UHH 100 210 x —4 5 0
