GAME NOTES

HONOLULU—The No. 14/20 University of Hawai'i softball team (37-8, 14-1 Big West) return to host their final two home series of the season starting with a three-game tilt against Long Beach State (30-19, 12-6 Big West) this week. The top two teams in the conference square off in a three-game series starting with a single game on Friday, April 26 at 6:00 p.m. followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, April 27 at 2:00 p.m. The 49ers are tied with Pacific for second place in the league with 12-6 records. Hawai'i ultimately holds their destiny in their own hands, but it will not be easy as their last three series are against the next three teams right below them in the Big West.
 
Hawai'i rose one spot in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association/USA Today poll to No. 14 while staying steady at No. 20 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll for the third straight week. Hawai'i won six of their seven games on their most recent 11-day roadtrip—including sweeping their three-game series this past weekend at Cal Poly. Jessica Iwata and Kayla Wartner led the 'Bows at the plate last week, both hitting an even .500. Iwata earned her second Big West Player of the Week honor after coming through in the clutch for the 'Bows at San Luis Obispo. Iwata began the week with a 2-for-4 performance in an 8-1 win at Cal State Bakersfield.  She drilled a double and scored a run as UH picked up momentum for its Big West series at Cal Poly. After enduring an 0-for-4 day in the opening game at Cal Poly, Iwata proceeded to record five hits in her next six at-bats.  In the second game, Iwata blasted a solo home run in the fourth inning to tie the contest at 1-1.  It was her fifth homer of the season and 52nd of her career. Iwata struck again in the fifth, lacing a single to right that gave the 'Bows an insurmountable 3-1 lead. Iwata produced the game-winning RBI in Saturday's 2-1 victory in the series finale. Iwata drove in UH's two runs and finished the day 3-for-3 with a double and stolen base.  She kick started UH with a first inning RBI single for a 1-0 lead. After Cal Poly knotted the score at 1-1, Iwata pounced on an 0-2 pitch for an opposite field single that scored Kelly Majam to give UH what proved to be the winning run.
 
Wartner was also hot at the plate, going 8-for-16 in last week's four games. She had as least one hit in each of those four games while scoring a team-high five runs with four RBI, a double and a home run. In conference action, Wartner is hitting a solid .346 with 13 runs, three doubles, three homers and 12 RBI.
 
In the circle, ironwoman Kaia Parnaby became UH's single-season wins record holder this past week as she recorded her 32nd and 33rd win in Friday's doubleheader. Parnaby broke a 10-year old record of 32 wins set by former UH-great Melissa Coogan in 2003. Parnaby continues to lead the NCAA DI with 34 wins; is No. 2 with 299 strike outs; No. 4 with 11 shut outs; No. 15 with a 1.32 ERA and 1.13 walks per seven innings. She is 34-4 overall and 13-1 in Big West action.

Long Beach State 49ers (30-19, 12-6 BWC)
The 49ers captured their most recent series at home against UC Santa Barbara, 2-1. LBSU won the doubleheader to open the series, but fell in a tight 2-1 game on Sunday to drop them into a two-way tie with Pacific for second place in the conference. As a team, the 49ers leads the league with a .285 batting average and 381 hits. However, they are seventh in the Big West with a combined 3.06 ERA.

Leading LBSU at the plate are a trio of hitters who are run scoring machines all hitting over the .300 mark. Hanna De Gaetano and Shayna Kimbrough lead the league with a .374 and .359 batting average respectively. De Gaetano is 49-for-131 with six doubles, five home runs and 22 RBI with 23 runs scored. Kimbrough has a league-high 62 hits with 28 runs scored with five doubles, two triples, a home run and 15 RBI. She also leads the team by far with 11-for-12 stolen bases. Nalani St. Germain is hitting a healthy .322 (49-for-152) with a team-high 32 runs scored, seven doubles and eight homers. Darian Tautalafua leads the 49ers with nine home runs and 37 home runs.

In the circle, Long Beach State has five pitchers who have seen action this year. The two who have seen the most innings however are Erin Jones-Wesley and Amanda Hansen. Jones-Wesley is 15-8 with a 2.77 ERA in 144.0 innings pitched. She has 162 strike outs to 65 walks while holding teams to a .229 batting average. Hansen is close behind with a 2.79 ERA in 130.1 innings. She is 9-6 overall with 64 strike outs and 51 walks.

Games 46-48
Who: No. 14/20 Hawai'i (37-8, 14-1 Big West) vs. Long Beach State (30-19, 12-6 BWC)
When: Friday, April 26 at 6:00 p.m.; Saturday, April 27 at 2:00 p.m. (doubleheader)
Where: Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium (1,200) - Honolulu, O'ahu
Television: Saturday's doubleheader will be televised statewide on OCSports (Ch. 16 – SD and Ch. 1016 – HD) with Scott Robbs (play-by-play) and Lori Santi (color) handling the broadcast.
Streaming Video: Live video streaming is available at BigWest.tv on Friday and ocsports.tv on Saturday. 
Radio: All three games will be aired on ESPN 1500 am "The Buzz" Scott Robbs will call Friday night's game while Blaine Kauwe will be handling Saturday's doubleheader.
Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at HawaiiAthletics.com
Series History: The Rainbow Wahine and 49ers have a long, storied rivalry dating back to UH's first stint in the Big West. LBSU has a distinct advantage in the series history, winning 49 out of 74 games against the 'Bows. Hawai'i, however, won its most recent meeting in 2011 in Las Vegas, Nev. at UNLV's annual tournament, 10-4.
Coaches: Hawai'i head coach Bob Coolen is now 835-462-1 in 22 seasons at the helm of the Rainbow Wahine program and 907-556-1 in his career. Long Beach State head coach Kim Sowder is 226-151.
Promotions: Jack in the Box is the series sponsor and will provide Jack coupons for the winners of the popular “Ballpark Bingo.” Also, Jack antenna balls will be thrown into the stands during the fourth inning of each UH game.