Game Notes

HONOLULU—The University of Hawai'i softball team (11-10, 0-0 Big West) hosts its final non-conference tournament this week with the Pepsi Rainbow Wahine Classic, March 12-15. Participating in the tourney will be BYU (9-13, 0-0 WCC), James Madison (14-8, 0-0 CAA), Valparaiso (4-14, 0-0 Horizon), and No. 2 Oregon (18-2, 0-0 PAC-12).
 
Hawai'i went 2-3 in the Jack in the Box Spring Fling Tournament this past week. The Rainbow Wahine picked up wins over Pacific and California. Leading the 'Bows during the five game tourney was rightfielder Keiki Carlos, who hit an even .500 (8-for-16) with a double and two RBI. Freshman outfielder Ulu Matagiese played in four games and hit .444 (4-for-9) with a double and three RBI while Jazmine Zamora was 4-for-12 in five starts for a .333 average. Overall, Carlos has started all 21 games and is hitting a team-high .378. She also leads UH with 16 runs scored and six doubles. Sophomore third baseman Alyssa Villalpando is second on the team with a .378 batting average (17-for-45) with three doubles and four home runs. Leisha Li'ili'i is third on the team with a .362 average (21-for-58) with a team-high seven home runs and 18 RBI.
 
In the pitching circle, rookie Heather Morales has pitched the most innings (61.1) and has a 6-5 record in 14 appearances. She has fired three shut outs this season and has held opponents to a .261 batting average. Sophomore Loie Kesterson is 5-3 in 13 appearances and has thrown 53.2 innings while Carlos has made six appearances and is 0-2 in 21.0 innings pitched.
 

BYU COUGARS (9-13, 0-0 WCC)
BYU comes into Honolulu with a 9-13 record. Ashley Thompson leads five Cougars who are hitting over .300. Thompson currently has a team-high .367 average (18-for-49) and she is second on the team with 17 RBI and is tied for third on the team with 12 runs scored. Sydney Broderick is second on the team with a .350 average (21-for-61) with three doubles and 10 runs scored while Gordy Bravo is hitting .345 (10-for-29) in 11 games.
 
Pitcher Tori Almond is 2-2 with a team-low 2.42 ERA in seven appearances with 28 strike outs and 15 walks. McKenna Bull has seen the bulk of the workload this season. She is 2-6 with a 5.04 ERA in 58.1 innings pitched in 17 appearances while Thompson is 3-3 with a 5.10 ERA in 12 appearances and 46.2 innings.
 

James Madison Dukes (14-8, 0-0 CAA)
The Dukes swept through the Spring Fling tourney, going a perfect 4-0. JMU is staying the week and playing in their second UH tournament this week. Hannah Hayes leads James Madison with a .390 average (23-for-59) and with seven stolen bases. She has scored 11 runs with three doubles and a home run. Erica Field is hitting .299 with a team-high 15 RBI and seven doubles. Shortstop Jailyn Ford is hitting .273 (18-for-66) with a team-high 14 runs scored. She has five doubles and two home runs.
 
Ford and Heather Kiefer both come into this tourney with identical 7-4 records. Ford has a team-low 1.51 ERA in 12 starts. She has three shut outs this season with 75 strike outs and just 15 walks. Kiefer has appeared in 13 games with 10 starts with a 2.49 ERA in 64.2 innings pitched.
 

No. 2 Oregon Ducks (18-2, 0-0 PAC-12)
The Ducks roll into town ranked No. 2 in the NFCA/ USA Softball poll and an 18-2 record. Courtney Ceo is hitting a jaw-dropping .500 (30-for-60) with 15 runs scored, three doubles, one triple, and two home runs. She has stolen a team-high eight stolen bases. Alexa Peterson is hitting .397 (23-for-58) with five doubles and three home runs and a team-high 17 RBI. A total of seven Oregon players are hitting over .300. They have outscored their opponents 125-to-34 this season.
 
Cheridan Hawkins was last week's USA softball National Player of the Week and the Pac-12's Pitcher of the Week after dominating in last week's Citrus Classic in Orlando Florida. Hawkins is 10-2 with a 1.00 ERA. She has eight complete games under her belt with six shut outs in 77.0 innings. Hawkins has 29 walks while fanning 126 batters already this season. Karissa Hovinga is 7-0 with a 1.39 ERA in 11 appearances. She has thrown 45.1 innings with two shut outs.  Jasmine Smithson-Willett is 1-0 with a 2.76 ERA in 12.2 ininngs pitched.
 

Valparaiso Crusaders (4-14, 0-0 Horizon)
Valpo is 4-14 coming into this week. The Crusaders are led by Jessie Marinec who is hitting .423 (11-for-26) in 10 games and nine starts. Amanda Wisniewski is hitting .327 with a team-high four home runs while Tarah McShane has a .304 average (16-for-46) with three doubles, a triple and three home runs. She leads Valparaiso with 11 RBI.
 
The pitching staff is led by Sierra Pico who has thrown 46.1 innings with a 3.32 ERA. She has a 1-7 record thus far. Mollie Lindeman has a 1-2 record with a 4.15 ERA in 28.2 innings pitched. Taylor Weissenhofer is 2-4 this season with a 7.48 ERA in 29.0 innings.
 
 
2014 Pepsi Rainbow Wahine Classic Schedule
Wednesday March 12
1:00 pm                BYU vs. James Madison
3:00 pm                BYU vs. Oregon                
5:00 pm                James Madison vs. Valparaiso
7:00 pm                Hawai'i vs. Valparaiso
 
Thursday, March 13
4:00 pm                Valparaiso vs Oregon
6:00 pm                Hawai'i vs. James Madison         
8:00 pm                Hawai'I vs. BYU
 
Friday, March 14
1:30 pm                Valparaiso vs BYU
3:30 pm                James Madison vs. Oregon
6:00 pm                Hawai'i vs. Oregon
8:00 pm                #4 seed vs. #5 seed
 
 
Saturday, March 15
11:00 am              #1 seed vs. Winner game #1
1:00 pm                #2 seed vs. #3 seed
3:00 pm                Winner #2 vs. Winner #3 (Championship Game)
 

Pepsi Rainbow Wahine Classic Information
Teams: Hawai'i, BYU, James Madison, Oregon, Valparaiso
Dates: March 12-15
Where: Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium (1,200)
Television: Both of UH's games on Thursday night against James Madison and BYU will be televised statewide on OCSports – Channels 16 (SD) and 1016 (HD). Howard Dashefsky (play-by-play) and Lori Santi (color) will be on the call.
Streaming video: All of UH's games can be viewed online at BigWest.tv for the tournament. The non-Hawai'i games will also be streamed as well, please check the schedule listing at HawaiiAthletics.com for the link.
Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at HawaiiAthletics.com
Admission is FREE!
Promotions: Pepsi is the tournament sponsor and will provide Pepsi prize packs to the winners of the popular "Ballpark Bingo."  Also, Pepsi t-shirts will be thrown into the stands during the fourth inning of each UH game.
Coaches: Hawai'i head coach Bob Coolen is in his 23rd season at the helm of the Rainbow Wahine program. He is 854-478-1 at UH and 926-571-1 in 27 years as a head coach. Mickey Dean is in his second season as the head coach at James Madison with a 56-25 record with the Dukes. Dean's career record is 297-140 in eight seasons.Oregon's Mike White is in his fifth season with the Ducks with a 241-79 record.BYU's Gordon Eakin is in his 12th year as head coach at BYU with a 458-213 record. Valpo's Jordan Stevens is in his fourth season with the Crusaders. He has a 115-81-1 record.
Series Records: BYU leads the series vs. UH, 8-2. The Cougars have won the last three games, including one last season 4-2 at UNLV's tournament in Las Vegas. Hawai'i lost its only meeting with James Madison this past Sunday, 6-0. Oregon has a two-game edge over Hawai'i, leading 11-9. Last year, the Ducks edged out the 'Bows 6-5 in Las Vegas. This is the first meeting against Valparaiso from Indiana.