Tournament Notes

HONOLULU—The University of Hawai'i softball team opens its 2012 season with the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic this week from Feb. 9-11 at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. The 'Bows will battle Seattle, Missouri-Kansas City and DePaul.
 
Head coach Bob Coolen is entering his 21st season at the helm of the Rainbow Wahine who are looking to build upon last season's 37-18 overall record and 14-7 mark in the Western Athletic Conference. Coolen, who is the only softball coach to lead UH to the NCAA tournament, has a 754-446-1 record at UH and an 826-538-1 career record. Two-time WAC Pitcher of the Year, Stephanie Ricketts and two-time WAC Player of the Year Jessica Iwata lead the 'Bows into the new season.
 
Ricketts, a senior pitcher from San Jose,Calif., was the cornerstone of the team all last season. Ricketts, who recently earned a spot on the pre-season all-WAC squad, earned Easton All-American honors in 2011 after posting a 22-11 record. She had her best statistical season as a Rainbow Wahine with single-season bests in ERA (1.58), complete games (30), shut-outs (9), and strike outs (250) while holding opponents to a .193 batting average. She broke former UH All-American Brooke Wilkins' 16-year old career strike out record with 589 K's and became just the second Rainbow Wahine to win at least 20 games in three consecutive seasons. For her career, Ricketts is now ranked second in the UH record books with 74 wins; third in appearances (127) and games started (107); fourth in innings pitched (712.1) and fifth in shut outs (23).
 
Iwata was recently named to the Top 50 Watch List for the 2012 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. The shortstop from Lihu'e, Kaua'i was also tabbed a pre-season all-WAC candidate. Iwata led the Rainbow Wahine in 2011 with a .355 batting average (60-for-169), a .663 slugging percentage, and a .447 on-base percentage. She also led UH in runs scored (43), hits (60), home runs (15) and RBI (44), and finished the season on a nine-game hitting streak. She accumulated more multiple-hit games (16) and multiple-RBI games (13) than any other Rainbow Wahine in 2011.
 
Joining Ricketts and Iwata on the pre-season all-WAC squad were senior leftfielder Alex Aguirre and junior centerfielder Kelly Majam. Aguirre hit .290 while starting in 54 games in 2011. She went 42-for-145 at the plate and scored 30 runs with three doubles and six home runs. She led UH with 12 stolen bases--a career high. In conference, Aguirre was third on the team, hitting .314 (16-for-51) with nine runs scored and five stolen bases.

Majam, a 2010 NFCA All-American, returned for her sophomore campaign after some health issues in the off season, but started all 55 games. She hit .290 overall (47-for 162) with 38 runs scored nine home runs and 25 RBI. Majam led UH with 11 doubles and for the second straight season, had a 1.000 fielding percentage in centerfield. She tallied 10 multiple-hit games and six multiple-RBI games and finished the season on a six game hitting streak. Majam's career home run total stands at 39—which is second in UH history only to Kate Robinson's 44 homers and her 119 career runs scored ties her for fourth place all-time in UH history with Stacey Porter and Kehau Cofran.
 
Scouting the Opponents
Seattle (2011: 11-35; 7-13 Pacific Coast Softball Conference)
Seattle head coach Dan Powers leads his Redhawks into Honolulu in his ninth season. SU returns its top four hitters from last year, led by junior shortstop Allegra Wilde who had team-highs in average (.336), hits (49), doubles (12), home runs (3), and RBI (30). Wilde was the only Seattle player to start all 46 games last season. Senior third baseman, Hannah Klein returns for her senior campaign after hitting .301 last year (37-for-123) with 18 runs scored and 17 RBI, while speedy sophomore outfielder Sarah Petosa hit .286 with a team-high 30 runs scored and 11 stolen bases. She also had five doubles and 14 RBI.

On the mound, the Redhawks return sophomore pitcher Richelle Ashburn who went 7-16 with a 6.15 ERA last year in 33 appearances. She pitched 132.0 innings with 67 strike outs. Junior Jessica Ulrich also returns after going 3-16 last year with a 6.65 ERA in 128.1 innings pitched.
 
Missouri-Kansas City (38-16, 18-5 Summit League)
The Kangaroos of Missouri-Kansas City were recently picked to finish first in the 2012 Summit League poll. The 'Roos  return much of last year's team that went 38-16 overall and 18-5 in conference. UMKC's squad is headlined by last year's league player, pitcher and coach of the year—Kaelene Curry, Deanna Friese and head coach Meredith Smith respectively. The Roos love to runs, stealing 136-of-164 bases last season with seven players stealing 10-or-more and they feature eight lefty hitters in their roster.

Four Kangaroos hit over the .300 mark in 2012 and they return their top seven hitters from 2012, led by Curry who hit a lofty .378 with a team-high 65 hits and 45 runs scored. Senior Anna Sokolik was second on the team with a .359 average with 34 runs scored, 15 stolen bases and a team-high 36 RBI. Emily Ott, a junior pitcher/outfielder, hit .543 with 28 runs scored, 11 doubles and two home runs with 20 stolen bases.

The pitching staff returns it top three pitchers from last season. Friese is the Roos' workhorse with a 28-9 record last year in 42 appearances. She had a stingy 1.82 ERA with 310 strike outs to 100 walks in 242.1 innings pitched. Friese held opponents to a .178 batting average. Ott went 3-2 with a 2.48 ERA in 31.0 innings and Sokolik was a perfect 5-0 with a 4.11 ERA in 46.0 innings.
 
DePaul (2011: 41-15; 19-2 Big East)
The Blue Demons were recently tabbed to finish first in the Big East pre-season poll. DePaul finished second in the conference and advanced to the NCAA Regionals last season. DePaul's strength may be their pitching staff, which features 2011 Big East Rookie of the Year and first team player Kristen Verdun, 2010 Big East Rookie of the Year Bree Brown, Hannah Penna, Mary Connolly and Paige Peterson. Verdun went 22-4 last season with a 2.33 ERA in 162.1 innings pitched. She had 136 strike outs to just 45 walks and held opponents to a .240 batting average. Brown was 7-4 with a 4.23 ERA in 94.1 innings pitched and was second on the team with 117 K's.

The Blue Demons lost their leading hitters from last season, Alex Morocco and Sean Plese, but they return their power from the middle of their line up which includes Samantha Dodd, Verdun, and Allie Braden. Dodd, a junior outfielder, hit .322 (58-for-180) with a team-high 10 doubles, 30 runs scored and five home runs. She also leads all returnees with 11 stolen bases from last year. Verdun, who pitched and played first base last season, led the Blue Demons with 11 home runs and 43 RBI last season while hitting .304 (45-for-148). Braden hit .298 (36-for-121) with 23 runs, five doubles and 16 RBI.
 
2012 Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic Information
Feb. 9
3:30 pm            DePaul vs. Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC)
6:00 pm            HAWAI'I vs. SEATTLE
Feb. 10
1:00 pm            Seattle vs. UMKC
3:30 pm            Seattle vs. DePaul
6:00 pm            HAWAI'I vs. UMKC
8:00 pm            HAWAI'I vs. DePAUL
Feb. 11
11:00 am          #2 Seed vs. #3 Seed
1:00 pm          #1 Seed vs. #4 Seed
3:00 pm            Loser Gm. 1 vs. Loser Gm. 2
5:00 pm            Winner Gm. 1 vs. Winner Gm. 2
 
Radio: ESPN 1500AM will carry Saturday's games live with Blaine Kauwe handling the play-by-play.
Admission is FREE!
Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at HawaiiAthletics.com
Tournament Sponsor: Oceanic Time Warner Cable
Promotions: Ballpark Bingo is back! This week Oceanic Time Warner Cable prizes will be given out to the Bingo winners. See the marketing staff for bingo cards during the tournament.