Series Notes

HONOLULU—The No. 14/17 University of Hawai'i softball team (37-5, 9-2 WAC) battles first place Fresno State (31-17, 11-2 WAC) in a pivotal three-game Western Athletic Conference series this week at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. The series opens with a single game on Friday, April 27 at 6:00 p.m. with Senior Night festivities following Saturday's doubleheader which starts at 2:00 p.m. on April 28. It will be the final home games for junior Jocelyn Enrique and seniors Alexandra Aguirre, Makani Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu, Shannon Lum, Dara Pagaduan, Rachel Paragas, Stephanie Ricketts, and Sarah Robinson.
 
The Rainbow Wahine return home after going 2-1 at Nevada last week. Leisha Li'ili'i and Aguirre led UH hitting .500 in the series both going 5-for-10 with a home run and two RBI. Jessica Iwata also hit a solid .455 (5-for-11) with two home runs and a team-high four RBI. In the circle, Stephanie Ricketts and Kaia Parnaby combined to hold the Wolf Pack to a .192 average with a 1.05 ERA. Ricketts went 1-1 and in her win, she tossed her 32^nd career shut out to tie former UH All-American Brooke Wilkins' school record.
 
Overall, Iwata is hitting .402 (47-for-117) with seven doubles, 10 home runs, 29 runs scored, and a team-high 44 RBI. Robinson, who has been one of the most consistent hitters for UH this year, is second on the team with a .341 average (43-for-126) with 28 runs, five doubles and seven homers while Li'ili'i is hitting .339 (38-for-112) and is second on the team with 33 RBI.
 
Hawai'i's pitching staff is ranked No. 2 in the nation with a 1.02 ERA. Ricketts is also No. 2 with a 0.97 ERA with a 23-3 overall record with nine shut outs and 25 complete games. She has 72 walks to 189 strike outs while holding opponents to a .166 batting average. In the WAC, she is 8-1 with a 0.72 ERA. Parnaby has a 1.11 ERA which is ranked at No. 10 nationally and a 14-2 record with seven shut outs. She has 106 strike outs to 20 walks in 101.1 innings pitched. In conference, Parnaby has a 2.62 ERA with a 3-2 record in 29.1 innings pitched. Combined the two have held opponents to a .171 batting average.

It is an interesting week for the WAC with all of the teams next to each other locked up in battles this weekend. No. 1 Fresno State is here to play No. 2 Hawai'i; No. 3 BYU will be hosting No. 4 San Jose State; No. 5 Nevada will travel to No. 6 Louisiana Tech; and No. 7 Utah State will play at No. 8 New Mexico State. 
 
About Fresno State...
The Fresno State Bulldogs (31-17, 11-2 WAC) lead UH by a half-game in conference action. As a team, the Bulldogs are hitting a combined .270 and have a 2.45 ERA. Three FS players are hitting over the .300 mark, led by Brooke Ortiz's .328 batting average (45-for-137) and Stesha Brazil's .319 average (46-for-144). Ortiz has six doubles, three triples and 15 RBI while Brazil leads Fresno State with 12 doubles and four triples and is second on the team with 26 runs scored. Courtney Moore is hitting .314 (47-for-105) but it is Michelle Moses who has been the catalyst with a team-high 28 runs scored, 16 home runs, and 35 RBI.
 
Moses has also done the job on the mound, going 20-11 overall with 11 shutouts in 33 appearances. She has a 1.80 ERA with 73 walks to 207 strike outs in 198.2 innings pitched. In the WAC, Moses is 9-1 with a 1.32 ERA with five shut outs while holding teams to a .159 batting average. Mackenzie Oaks is 9-4 overall with a 2.88 ERA in 97.1 innings of work. She has 32 walks to 61 strike outs with two shutouts. In conference, Oakes is 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA in 21.2 innings.
 
Games 43-45
Who: No. 14/18 Hawai'i (37-5, 11-3 WAC) vs. Fresno State (31-17, 11-2 WAC)
Date: Friday, April 27 at 6:00 p.m.; Saturday, April 28 at 2:00 p.m. – Senior Night (doubleheader)
Where: Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium (1,200) - Honolulu, HI
Series Sponsor: Bud Light
Promotions: Bud Light will award great prizes throughout the weekend for Ball Park Bingo! Bud Light will also be tossing out t-shirts and koozies during each game!. At Saturday's Senior Night doubleheader, the University of Hawaii Federal Credit Union will distribute 500 team photos and honor the seniors with commemorative plaques during a special post-game ceremony.
Television: OCSports (channel 12-SD and channel 1012-HD) will broadcast all three games with Howard Dashefsky handling the play-by-play while Lori Santi will cover color analyst duties
Webcast: Fans can catch the games at www.OCSports.tv for a small fee.
Radio: ESPN 1420AM will air all three of the games this weekend with Blaine Kauwe handling the broadcast.
Streaming Audio: www.espn1420am.com
Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at HawaiiAthletics.com
Ticket Information: Admission is FREE!
Series Record: Fresno State has a commanding lead against the 'Bows, 65-19, with the Bulldogs sweeping last year's series in Fresno and eliminated UH in the 2012 WAC tournament.