Regional Notes
Interactive NCAA Tournament Bracket
Tucson Regional Bracket

TUCSON, Ariz.—The Western Athletic Conference regular season champion University of Hawai`i softball team (44-7, 17-3 WAC) faces Notre Dame (38-14) in the opening game of the NCAA Tucson Regional. The two teams will square off at 5:30 p.m. in the Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium on the University of Arizona campus. The 13th-ranked Rainbow Wahine are the second seed in the regional, while the Fighting Irish are the third seed. The regional host team, 13th-seeded Arizona (35-17), will play North Dakota State (37-20) at 8:00 p.m. All the games in the Tucson Regional will be televised live on ESPNU and ESPN3.
 
The Rainbow Wahine are hitting a combined .296 on offense, with five players hitting above the .300-mark and UH has now outscored its opponents 322-to-79 this season. Junior shortstop Jessica Iwata continues to lead UH with a .403 batting average, 58 hits, 14 home runs, 57 RBI, a .757 slugging percentage and a .503 on-base percentage. Senior third baseman is second on the squad, hitting a solid .340 (52-for-153) with 35 runs scored and 33 RBI. Freshman designated player is hitting .326 (45-for-138) with seven doubles and nine home runs and is second on the team with 37 RBI and senior first baseman Makani Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu has a .308 batting average heading into the post-season. She has five doubles, eight homers and 34 RBI. Junior Kelly Majam has raised her average to .301 (44-for-146) with team-highs in runs scored (54) and walks (38). She is second on the team with 23 homers and a .616 slugging percentage.
 
Although UH's pitching staff faltered a little in the WAC tournament, the dynamic duo of senior Stephanie Ricketts and junior Kaia Parnaby continue to be one of the best tandems in the NCAA, ranked No. 5 with a combined 1.32 ERA. Individually, Ricketts is ranked No. 11 in the NCAA with a 1.24 ERA and has posted a 28-4 overall record this season. The three-time WAC Pitcher of the Year has fired 30 complete games this season in 31 starts and has 10 shutouts this year. In 214.1 innings of work, Ricketts has walked 89 with 221 strike outs while holding opponents to a .181 batting average. Parnaby (16-3) has a 1.45 ERA in 120.2 innings pitched and has fired nine shut outs in 2012. She has 25 walks to 123 strike outs while keeping opponents at bay with a .176 batting average.
 
This marks the 10th NCAA appearance for Hawai`i—all under the guidance of head coach Bob Coolen who enters the tournament just two wins shy of hitting the 800-win mark at Hawai`i. Overall his record is 870-546-1.
 
Scouting the Opponents…
 
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (38-14)
This is Fighting Irish's 17th-straight NCAA tournament appearance and 11th in as many seasons for head coach Deanna Gumpf. Hawai`i has won five of eight meetings against Notre Dame, although the Irish have won the last three meetings, including their last game in 2005.
 
Notre Dame finished the 2012 season strong, winning 17-straight games before falling to No. 8 Louisville last week on a walk-off homer, 4-3 in the BIG EAST championship game. The Irish have been solid offensively all season and are currently hitting a combined .305 with seven players currently hitting above .300. The are led by Amy Buntin, who is hitting a healthy .372 (58-for-156) with a team-high 42 runs scored, 58 hits, 59 RBI and is second with 11 home runs. Second on the team is Kasey O'Connor who has appeared in 28 games this season with a .343 average and five doubles while Kelsey Thornton and Dani Miller are both hitting .340. Thornton is 50-for-147 with 32 runs scored with a team-high 19 stolen bases, while Miller is one of three players to start all 52 games. She is 51-for-150 with 32 runs scored with team-high 16 home runs.
 
In the circle, the Fighting Irish are led by Big East Pitcher of the Year, sophomore Laura Winter, who is 27-9 overall this season with a 1.88 ERA in 42 appearances. She hs thrown 238.0 innings with an amazing 21 walks to 266 strike outs. Notre Dame's second pitcher is Brittany O'Donnell who is 11-5 with a 3.45 ERA with 89.1 innings under her belt.
 
No. 17/15 Arizona Wildcats (35-17)
Perennial power and host-school Arizona is ranked No. 17 in the most recent NFCA/USA Today and No. 15 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball polls. The Wildcats have won eight Women's College World Series titles—including 2010 when the Rainbow Wahine fell to them in Oklahoma City, Okla. This season, Arizona finished fourth in the PAC-12 with a 12-12 conference record. The Rainbow Wahine are 0-13 all-time against the Wildcats.
 
Five Wildcats have started all 51 games for UA—including their top three hitters. Hallie Wilson and Shelby Pendley both are hitting .355 to lead Arizona. Wilson is a freshman outfielder who is 60-for-169 at the plate and is third with 36 runs scored. Shortstop Pendley, a fellow freshman, is 55-for-155 with a team-high 18 home runs and 53 RBI this season. Senior Lini Koria is hitting a solid .331 (45-for-136) with 35 runs scored and 16 home runs. Three Wildcats have stolen at least 11 stolen bases—Karissa Buchanan (16), Chelsea Suitos (12), and Brigette Del Ponte (11).
 
Sophomore starter Shelby Babcock (18-9) has thrown the most innings for Arizona, tallying 169.1 innings with a 3.10 ERA. She has six shut outs, 19 complete games, 93 walks and 138 strike outs. Junior Kenzie Fowler has a 2.83 ERA and is 13-8 this season with eight shut outs and 15 complete games. Fowler has tossed143.1 innings with 88 walks and 172 strike outs. Jessica Spigner is 2-0 with a 2.88 ERA in six appearances.
 
North Dakota State Bison (37-20)
Four-time Summit League tournament champion North Dakota State is making its third NCAA DI Tournament appearance—its first since 2009 when the Bison advanced to the Super Regionals in Tempe, Ariz. North Dakota State was a national power in DII for many years, winning the NCAA DII crown in 2000. Hawai`i has never played the Bison before.
 
NDSU as a team are hitting .260 and are led by Taylor Mortensen's .308 average (53-for-172). Mortensen has team-highs in runs scored (35), triples (4), is tied with a team-best eight home runs, and she along with teammate Katie Tamayo, both have racked up 53 hits apiece.  Tamayo is hitting .296 (53-for-179) with 24 runs scored and a team0high 16 doubles. Jamie Bay is hitting .294 with 28 runs, five doubles, with a team-high 10 stolen bases.
 
The Bison pitching staff is comprised basically of two pitchers—junior Whitney Johnson and freshman Krista Menke. Menke has seen the bulk of the workload, throwing 238.2 innings with 10 shut outs and a 24-11 record. She has tossed 30 complete games in 35 starts with 77 walks to 199 strike outs while holding opponents to a .191 batting average. Johnson is 13-9 overall with a 2.05 ERA, 74 walks and 173 strike outs.
 
 
NCAA Tucson Regional
(Hillenbrand Stadium, Tucson, Ariz.)
All times local to site

Friday, May 18
Game 1--Hawai'i vs. Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m.
Game 2--13th-seed Arizona vs. North Dakota State, 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 19
Game 3--Winner G1 vs. Winner G2, 3:00 p.m.
Game 4--Loser G1 vs. Loser G2, 5:30 p.m.
Game 5--Winner G4 vs. Loser G3, 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 20
Game 6--Winner G3 vs. Winner G5, 2:30 p.m. 
*Game 7--Loser G6 vs. Winner G6, 5:00 p.m. *If needed

Tucson Regional Winner advances to play winner of Norman Regional

Ticket Information
Visit the McKale Ticket Office, ArizonaWildcats.com or call 520-621-CATS to purchase tickets. Ticket prices are as follows: $27 and $21 for all sessions for reserved and general admission, respectively. Single game prices are $10 for reserved seating and $8 for general admission.