Game Notes

LAS VEGAS, Nev.—The University of Hawai'i softball team (3-2, 0-0 Big West) heads off on its annual trip to Las Vegas, Nev. to play in UNLV's Easton Desert Classic, Feb. 13-19, 2014. The Rainbow Wahine will face UTEP, No. 1/2 Florida, Seattle, Portland State, Nevada and Utah in the four-day, 18-team tournament.
 
Hawai'i is coming off a 3-2 performance in their opening week of play in the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic. The 'Bows notched two victories over Hampton, got one win against Delaware but fell twice to No. 16/13 UCLA. In the first three game, senior Jazmine Zamora hit a team-high .400 (4-for-10) with an RBI before going down with an injury. Junior first baseman Leisha Li'ili'i hit .308 (4-of-13) with three of her four hits being of the extra-base variety. She launched a career-high two home runs while tying her career-high five RBI against Hampton and then ripped an RBI single up the middle in the tourney championship game against UCLA.
 
In the circle, the 'Bows got strong performances from freshman Heather Morales and sophomore southpaw Loie Kesterson. Morales went 3-1 in her UH debut weekend, posting three straight wins to start her Rainbow Wahine career. She did not allow a run in her first 20-2/3 innings pitched. Morales fired a pair of shut outs and against Hampton on Saturday, she took a no-hitter into the fourth inning before being lifted for Kesterson in the fifth. Kesterson was 0-1 in the opening weekend. In her first appearance, she fired seven shut-out innings against the Bruins, but UH error with two outs in the seventh allowed UCLA to tie the score at 1-1 to force extra innings. UCLA then pulled away in the eighth to win the game, 7-1. In all, Kesterson appeared in three games and threw 10 innings with seven walks and five strike outs.
 
Hawai'i's games against UTEP, Florida and Seattle will all be played at UNLV's Eller Media Stadium. UH's final three games of the tournament will be played at the Stephanie Lynn Craig Softball Complex.
 
Easton Desert Classic (Las Vegas, Nev.)
When: Feb. 13-16, 2014
Who: Hawai'i (3-2); UTEP (1-4); Florida (6-0); Seattle (1-3); Portland State (2-3); Nevada (4-1); Utah (2-3)
Live Stats: Hawai'i's three games at Eller Media Stadium will have livestats. 

Date	Time	Opponent	Site
Thurs., Feb. 13	4:30 pm	UTEP	Eller Media Stadium
Fri., Feb. 14	11:15 am	Florida	Eller Media Stadium
	1:30 pm	Seattle	Eller Media Stadium
Sat., Feb. 15	3:45 pm	Portland State	SLC-3
Sun., Feb. 16	11:00 am	Nevada	SLC-2
	1:30 pm	Utah	SLC-2

* SLC = Stephanie Lynn Craig Softball Complex in Henderson, Nev.
  
Series Information:
Utah: UH is 7-0 against former WAC rivals UTEP. The 'Bows won their last series in 2005.
Florida: First meeting
Seattle: Hawai'i is 3-0 against the Redhawks. Seattle came to Honolulu in 2013 to open the season with the OTWC Paradise Classic. The team's last meeting was on Feb. 11, 2012 in Honolulu, UH won, 21-0 (5).
Portland State: Hawai'i leads the series against the Vikings, 15-6. Last season, UH defeated PSU twice in the Pepsi Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament, 7-0 (Mar. 8, 2013) and 8-3 (Mar. 9, 2013). UH has won the last seven straight games.
Nevada: Hawai'i leads the series against Nevada, 23-19. Last season UH lost to the former WAC rival, 11-9 in the same UNLV tournament. The Wolf Pack has won the last two straight games against the 'Bows.
Utah: UH leads the series against Utah, 19-11 with the 'Bows winning the last eight games. Last season, UH defeated the Utes in the Chevron Spring Fling Tournament in Honolulu, 1-0 in eight innings.