Game Notes

LOGAN, Utah—The No. 12/14 University of Hawai'i softball team (40-5, 14-3 WAC) closes its regular season this weekend with a three-game series at Utah State (17-33, 4-14 WAC). The Rainbow Wahine will be fighting to win their fourth Western Athletic Conference regular season title.
 
Following the Rainbow Wahine's first ever sweep over Fresno State, UH has risen from No. 14 to No. 12 in the NFCA/USA Today Top 25 poll and in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, from No. 17 to No. 14. In the series opener, UH was down 3-0 going into the fourth inning. But the momentum shifted swiftly with one swing of the bat by Makani Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu who launched a two-run bomb that cut their deficit to 3-2 and momentarily stunned the Bulldogs who had been rolling along on defense with their ace, Michelle Moses fanning seven batters through the first three innings. In the fifth inning, the 'Bows batted around the order and posted nine runs on seven hits and ended the game via the mercy-rule, 11-3. It was a stunning end to the game that started as a pitcher's duel. Hawai'i then came through with an 11-inning, 1-0 win over the Bulldogs in the second game with freshman Kayla Wartner launching a walk-off, solo home run. In the series finale, senior Stephanie Ricketts fired her second no-hitter of the season and sixth of the season in a 2-0 win to sweep Fresno State. Ricketts got support with Wartner's second solo homer of the day in the third inning and senior Alex Aguirre also drilling a solo home run in the sixth inning in her final at bat at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
 
The Rainbow Wahine pitching staff continues to be one of the top duos in the country with a combined ERA of 1.01 which is ranked No. 2 in the nation with Kaia Parnaby No. 4 with a 1.00 ERA and Stephanie Ricketts No. 5 with a 1.02 ERA. Ricketts (25-3, 10-1 WAC) has thrown 27 complete games and has held opponents to a .163 batting average in 184.2 innings with 202 strike outs. Last week, in UH's senior game, Ricketts fired her sixth career no-hitter and second of the season in her final appearance at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. Parnaby (15-2, 4-2 WAC) has eight shutouts this season—including an 11-inning blanking of Fresno State this past week in her longest outing of her career. She has held opponents to a .170 batting average in 112.1 innings pitched  with 116 strike outs to 22 walks.
 
Overall, the Rainbow Wahine are hitting .287 overall and are ranked No. 6 in the NCAA DI in home runs and No. 13 in slugging percentage at .497. Junior shortstop Jessica Iwata continues the lead the team with a .389 batting average and a team-high 49 hits and 44 RBI. She also leads UH with a .683 slugging percentage and a .484 on-base percentage. Third baseman Sarah Robinson continues to be steady, hitting a solid .356 (48-for-135) with seven home runs and 30 RBI while freshman designated player Leisha Li'ili'i has a .320 batting average (39-for-122) with nine home runs and a .590 slugging-percentage.
 
About Utah State (17-33, 4-14 WAC)
The Aggies are coming off a series loss at New Mexico State, 2-1, which took Utah State out of the running for an appearance in this year's WAC tournament. They are currently in seventh place with their 4-14 WAC mark. On offense, USU is hitting .251 combined with junior transfer Christine Thomsen making an immediate impact for the Aggies with a .422 average (62-for-147) with a team-high 12 doubles and 28 runs scored. Kelley Kaneshiro has remained strong for the Aggies, hitting .340 (33-for-97) with a team-high seven home runs while Hailey Froton is hitting .271 with a team-high 23 RBI and Kassandra Uchida is the only Aggie to start in all 50 games this season. She is second on the team with 26 runs scored and nine doubles.
 
Utah State's pitching staff has a combined ERA of 5.00. Mandy Harmon has seen the majority of the action and is 7-15 with a 4.72 ERA in 132.0 innings pitched with 104 walks and 96 strike outs. Shelbi Tyteca is 5-9 with a 4.03 ERA in 100.2 innings with a 5-9 record overall while Dani Chaplin is 5-8 with a 6.17 ERA in 70.1 innings with 55 strike outs.