Game Notes

HONOLULU—The University of Hawai'i softball team (7-4, 0-0 Big West) returns home to host the Bank of Hawaii Invitational from Feb. 20-22 at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. No. 16 Washington (10-2, 0-0 Pac-12), No. 19 UCF (8-0, 0-0 AAC), and UTEP (2-8, 0-0 C-USA) are all coming to Honolulu for the three-day tournament. The 'Bows are coming off a 4-2 performance at the Wilson/DeMarini Desert Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. last week.
 
In Las Vegas, Hawai'i was led by senior catcher/outfielder Kayla Wartner, who earned Big West Player of the Week honors after hitting .550 (11-for-20) with four home runs and four doubles. She also drove in a team-high 10 runs with eight runs scored. Keiki Carlos and Lindsey Willmon also posted solid tourneys. Carlos hit .450 (9-for-20) with a double and a home run and six runs scored while Willmon filled the stat line. She hit .417 (10-for-24) with three doubles, a triple, and a home run. Willmon also scored six runs and drove in seven. Pitcher Brittany Hitchcock led UH with a 2-0 record and a 1.91 ERA in 14.2 innings pitched. She fired her first collegiate shutout against Seattle and held opposing batters to a .273 batting average.
 
Overall, Wartner leads UH with a .467 average (14-for-30) with a team-best 10 runs scored, 14 hits, five doubles and four home runs. She's tied for the team lead with Willmon and Sarina Jaramillo with 10 RBI. Willmon is second on the team with a .333 average (12-for-36) while Carlos is hitting .313 (10-for-32).

UTEP (2-8, 0-0 Conference USA)
The Miners are led by Kawehiokalani Netane who is hitting .394 (13-for-33) with two doubles and a triple and six runs scored. Kiki Pepi is hitting .367 (11-for-30) with a double and a home run and Ashley Eldridge his averaging .333 at the plate (10-for-30) with six runs scored and three doubles. 

UTEP has six pitchers on their staff, Danielle Pearson is 1-2 with a 3.94 ERA in 16.0 innings. Kaitlin Fifield has seen the most action. She is 1-3 with a 5.32 ERA with 20 strike outs and 22 walks in 26.1 innings pitched. Taylor Grohmann is 0-2 with a 8.03 ERA in 11.1 innings pitched.

No. 16 Washington (10-2, 0-0 Pac-12)
Washington enters the third week of play ranked No. 17 with a 10-2 record. According to the latest stats available, UW has 11 players hitting over .300. Kylee Lahners leads the way with a .583 average (14-for-24 with three doubles and a home run. Trysten Melhart is hitting .500 (7-for-14) and Dani Braun is hitting a healthy .471 (9-for-17). Courtney Gano has a team-high five home runs and 18 RBI. 

The Huskies have six pitchers who have seen action on the field, Hailey Bator is 40 with a 1.88 ERA in 18.2 innings pitched with two walks and 10 strike outs. Casey Stangel is 2-0 with a 2.83 ERA in 17.1 innings pitched while Kasey Stanchek is 2-2 with a 4.85 ERA in 17.1 innings pitched.

No. 19 UCF Knights (8-0, 0-0 American Athletic Conf)
UCF entered the NFCA/USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time ever tied at No. 19 with Arizona State. The Knights' strong week started with a 4-1 road win at South Carolina (RV) followed by wins over No. 18 Missouri (1-0), then No. 13 Minnesota (4-0) and Arkansas (6-1) at the NTC Spring Games in Clermont, Fla. Samantha McCloskey leads the Knights with a .476 average with two doubles and three home runs. Linnea Goodman is also hitting over the .400-mark at .426 with a team-high six runs scored. Kahley Novak is hitting .333 with a team-high four stolen bases and Jessica Ujvari is also hitting .333.

In the circle, Mackenzie Audas has been perfect with a 0.00 ERA in three complete game victories. In 21 innings pitched, she has walked four while fanning 32. Shleby Turnier is 4-0 with a miniscule 0.28 ERA in four appearances. She has three complete games and 25.0 innings under her belt. She has nine walks with 38 strike outs.
 
Bank of Hawaii Invitational Schedule
Feb. 20
3:30 pm - No. 16 Washington vs. No. 19 UCF
6:00 pm - Hawai'i vs. UTEP

Feb. 21
11:00 am - UTEP vs. UCF
1:30 pm - UTEP vs. Washington
4:00 pm - Hawai'i vs. UCF
6:00 pm - Hawai'i vs. Washington

Feb. 22
9:00 am - #2 Seed vs. #3 Seed
11:00 am - #1 Seed vs. #4 Seed
1:00 pm - Loser Gm. 1 vs. Loser Gm. 2
3:00 pm - Winner Gm 1 vs. Winner Gm 2

Bank of Hawaii Invitational
Who: Hawai'i (7-4, 0-0 Big West), Washington (), UCF (), UTEP ()
When: Friday, Feb. 20 – Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015
Where: Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium (1,200)
Admission is FREE!
Live-Streaming Video: Live streaming video will be available at HawaiiAthletics.com
Live Stats: Live in-game stats will be available for all tournament games at HawaiiAthletics.com
Promotions: Bank of Hawai`i  is the tournament sponsor and will provide great prizes for the winners of the popular "Ballpark Bingo."
Series Records: Washington holds an 11-4 record against UH. The Huskies defeated the 'Bows twice in the 2013 NCAA Regionals held at UW. Hawai'i is 2-0 against UCF (Central Florida) with the last meeting being a 3-1 win on Feb. 15, 2008 in Honolulu. Hawai'i is 8-0 against former Western Athletic Conference rival, UTEP. Their last meeting however was last season at UNLV's Desert Classic in which UH won, 10-5 on Feb. 13.