HONOLULU—The 2010 University of Hawai'i softball team will make its season debut with the 2009 Kama'aina Classic at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. The 'Bows will square off against Chaminade in a pair of doubleheaders starting on Friday, Nov. 6 and ending on Saturday, Nov. 7.
Head Coach Bob Coolen returns for his 19th season along with 10 returnees from last year's squad that finished 30-24 overall and 15-6 in the Western Athletic Conference. Among the returnees is senior first baseman Amanda Tauali'i, who earned first-team all-WAC and NFCA all-West Region first team honors last year while leading the 'Bows with 15 home runs, five triples, and 41 RBI. Joining Tauali'i, is 2009 WAC Freshman of the Year and NFCA first team all-West Region sophomore pitcher, Stephanie Ricketts who posted a 22-11 record last season with a 1.78 ERA and 178 strike outs to just 48 walks. Also returning are second-team all-WAC selections, Kanani Pu'u-Warren and Makani Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu. Pu'u-Warren, a senior outfielder, led UH's starters last season in conference play with a .340 average at the plate. Sophomore Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu earned the recognition as a designated player last season, hitting a solid .309 in her WAC rookie season. Overall in 2009, she hit seven home runs and drove in 24 runs.
Hoping to fill the void left by the departure of last year's eight seniors, are eleven newcomers who will don Hawai'i uniforms for the first time this weekend, including: junior college All-American, Jenna Rodriguez, who helped lead her Yavapai College (Prescott, Ariz.) Roughriders to their first-ever, National Junior College Athletics Association championship last season; freshman southpaw pitcher, Kaia Parnaby, who saw valuable playing time against the best teams in the softball world as the youngest pitcher on the Australian national team this past summer; and freshman shortstop and prep all-star, Jessica Iwata, who lead the Kaua'i Raiders to the DII state title as a senior last season. Also hoping to make a successful return to the diamond, is red-shirt freshman, stand-out outfielder Kelly Majam, who has worked hard to recover from a season ending injury suffered last fall.
To earn its ninth overall trip to the NCAA Regionals, UH will have to have a strong showing against elite teams representing 10 different conferences from across the country. The challenging slate includes 12 teams that advanced to the postseason last year, including Oklahoma, DePaul, and PAC-10 powers Arizona, California, Stanford, plus defending NCAA Champion, Washington.
2009 Kama'aina Classic Notes (Hawai'i vs. Chaminade)
When: Friday, Nov. 6; Doubleheader starting at 5:00 pm
Saturday, Nov. 7; Doubleheader starting at 9:00 am
Where: Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium (1,200) - Honolulu, O'ahu
Live Stats: Live stats available on HawaiiAthletics.com
Coaches: UH head coach Bob Coolen is in his 19th season (UH: 667-412-1; Career: 739-505-1).
Chaminade head coach, Kent Yamaguchi enters his ninth season with the Silverswords.
Admission is FREE. Parking: $5.00
- UH -
