Game Notes

FULLERTON, Calif.—The No. 15/20 University of Hawai'i softball team (31-7, 9-0 Big West) embarks on its longest roadtrip to date with an 11-day trek through California starting with a three-game series at Cal State Fullerton (16-22, 3-6 BWC). In their first season back in the Big West (after 16 years in the Western Athletic Conference) the Rainbow Wahine currently lead the BWC at 9-0—two games ahead of both Long Beach State and Pacific who are tied at 7-2 in league action. UH moved up one spot in both the National Fastpitch Coaches Association/USA Today and the ESPN.com/USA Softball polls on Tuesday after sweeping UC Riverside last weekend. 
 
The 'Bows are looking to keep their winning ways going on the road, having won their last 11-straight games. Last week, UH outscored the Highlanders 36-to-3 with a team batting average of .500 (39-for-78) while wracking up 11 home runs—with two apiece coming off the bats of reigning BWC Player of the Week Jessica Iwata, Kayla Wartner, Leisha Li'ili'i, Sharla Kliebenstein, and Kelly Majam. The 'Bows got off to fast starts in all three games and were particularly potent in the first inning, outscoring UCR, 23-to-0 in the opening frames.
 
Overall, Hawai'i's senior southpaw pitcher Kaia Parnaby is ranked as one of the NCAA DI leaders in several categories. She continues to lead the nation with 28 wins and she is No. 2 with 265 strike outs. Parnaby is ranked No. 3 with 10 shutouts and No. 10 with a 1.19 ERA. Her 265 single-season strike outs ranks her No. 2 in UH history behind fellow Aussie lefty great, Brooke Wilkins, whose all-time UH single-season K record stands at 324 set in 1994. Parnaby is also quickly climbing up the Big West single-season annals. Parnaby is one win shy of moving into a tie for No. 10 in BWC wins, and is within range of the all-time mark of 35 wins, set by Rhonda Wheatley of Cal Poly Pomona in 1987.  Parnaby already has entered the BWC record book in strikeouts, with her 265 whiffs placing her at No. 7.  She is three away from moving into the No. 6 slot, and 12 short of leaping all the way up to No. 4.  The all-time record of 309 strikeouts by Sacramento State's Susie Bugliarello in 1997 is in sight of Parnaby, who has whiffed 10 or more batters in a game nine times this season.
 
At the plate, sophomore first baseman Leisha Li'ili'i leads UH with a .324 batting average (34-for-105) with eight doubles, 10 home runs and a team-high 33 RBI. Right behind her is senior outfielder Brynne Buchanan, who after hitting .833 last week in three games raised her overall average to .319 (23-for-72) with 19 runs scored. Senior centerfielder Kelly Majam is hitting a healthy .318 with team-highs of 35 runs scored, 35 hits, 31 walks, nine stolen bases, and 14 home runs.
 
About Cal State Fullerton (16-22, 3-6 Big West)
The Titans have won one Big West series thus far at UC Santa Barbara, 2-1, but were swept at home by Cal Poly in week two of the league season. Last week, Cal State Fullerton split their opening doubleheader against Long Beach State, winning the first game 4-1 before falling in a heartbreaking, 1-0 game. In the series finale, the '49ers prevailed winning 7-4 to capture the series win.
 
CSUF is led on offense by Eliza Crawford, who is hitting .315 with a team-high 34 hits and 18 RBI. She is also tied for the team lead with five home runs with Melissa Sechrest. Second on the team is Ariel Tsuchiyama, who is hitting .303 (30-for-99) with eight doubles, two triples, and a home run with 17 RBI wile Desiree Ybarra is hitting .278 (27-for-97). Ashley Carter holds the team lead with 20 runs scored and 11 stolen bases.
 
In the circle, Jasmine Antunez has seen the majority of the workload for the Titans. She is 10-12 with a 2.90 ERA in 32 appearances. She has thrown 130.1 innings with 69 walks to 129 strike outs. Ybarra is second with 80.2 innings pitched. She is 5-9 with a 3.30 ERA, 27 walks and 38 strike outs while Katey Laban is 1-1 with a 4.63 ERA in 16 appearances.
 
Games 39-41
Who: No. 15/20 Hawai'i (31-27, 9-0 BWC) vs. Cal State Fullerton (16-22, 3-6 BWC)
Where: Anderson Family Field (1,000) – Fullerton, Calif.
When: Saturday, April 13 at 4:00 pm (DH); Sunday, April 14 at 12:00 pm
Livestats: Live in-game stats will be available at fullertontitans.com