Game Notes

HONOLULU—The University of Hawai'i softball team (18-14, 3-0 Big West) returns home after going 5-0 on their recent roadtrip to California. This week, Big West foe Cal State Fullerton (21-13-1, 12-1 Big West) comes to town for Hawai'i's home conference opening three-game series at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.  The series will start with a single game of Friday, April 4 at 6:00 p.m. then conclude with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader beginning at 2:00 p.m. Admission is free.
 
Last week, the 'Bows won a mid-week doubleheader, with a pair of come-from-behind wins over UMKC (Missouri-Kansas City) and Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles before heading to UC Riverside where they swept the Highlanders to start the conference season 3-0.  Junior first baseman Leisha Li'ili'i led UH in the five games, hitting .471 (8-for-17) with two doubles and one home run. Li'ili'i sparked both comeback rallies against UMKC and LMU and then knocked in what proved to be the winning runs in the final two games at UC Riverside. Jazmine Zamora led UH with nine hits over the five games for a .450 average with a double and a home run while Sharla Kliebenstein and Kayla Wartner both were key contributors in UH's road wins. Kliebenstein hit .429 going 6-for-14 at the plate—four of her six hits were for extra bases with two doubles and a pair of home runs. She led the 'Bows with seven RBI while Wartner had five RBI and a team-high three home runs hitting .357.

Overall, Li'ili'i leads UH with a team-high .378 average (34-for-90), nine home runs, 23 RBI and 19 walks. Junior Keiki Carlos is second overall with a .363 average with a team-high eight doubles, 25 runs scored, and 37 hits.

UH's pitchers also fared well with both Loie Kesterson and Heather Morales posting 2.00 ERA's. Sophomore southpaw Kesterson fired three complete game wins while Morales hung tough to go 2-0 with a pair of complete game victories. Overall, Kesterson raised her record to 10-5 while Morales is now 8-6 in 18 appearances.
 
Cal State Fullerton comes to Honolulu with a 21-13-1 overall record and a 2-1 mark in conference. Last week, the Titans also had a mid-week doubleheader, winning the first game at CSU Bakersfield, 6-2, but tying 10-10 in the night cap. CSF then dropped their Big West opener against UC Santa Barbara, 6-1 but bounced back to blank the Gauchos in the second game of the doubleheader, 10-0 in five innings. The Titans then out-slugged UCSB, 11-7 to capture the series recovering from a five-run deficit and winning on a Samantha Galarza grand slam in the sixth inning. Missy Taukeiaho--the reigning Big West Player of the Week--leads the titans with an even .400 batting average (42-105), 36 runs scored, seven doubles, 12 home runs and 32 RBI. Leesa Harris is second on the team hitting .380 (35-fpr-92) with five triples and 23 runs scored. In the pitching circle, the Titans have utilitzed five pitchers with Jasmine Antunez seeing the most action. She is 8-7 with a 4.44 ERA in 86.2 innings pitched while Christin Washington is 7-4 with a 4.09 ERA in 75.1 innings.

Games 33-35
Who: Hawai'i (18-14, 3-0 Big West) vs. Cal State Fullerton (21-13-1, 2-1 Big West)
When: Friday, April 4 at 6:00 pm; Saturday, April 5 (DH) at 2:00 pm
Where: Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium – Honolulu, O'ahu
Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at HawaiiAthletics.com
Live Video Stream: A live video stream will be available at HawaiiAthletics.com
Promotions: First Hawaiian Bank is the series sponsor and will provide great prizes for the winners of the popular "Ballpark Bingo." Also, t-shirts will be thrown into the stands during the fourth inning.
Coaches: Hawai'i head coach Bob Coolen is in his 23rd season and has an 861-482-1 record at UH and a 933-575-1 overall record. Cal State Fullerton's Kelly Ford is in her second season with the Titans. She has a 49-41-1 record.
Series History: Cal State Fullerton holds a 47-12 record against Hawai'i. Last year, the 'Bows won the series in Fullerton, 2-1 by sweeping the series' opening doubleheader, 14-2 (5) and 8-4 but falling in the series finale, 3-11 (5).