GAME NOTES

LAS VEGAS, Nev. –The University of Hawai'i softball team heads off on its annual trip to Las Vegas, Nev. to play in UNLV's DeMarini Desert Classic, Feb. 16-19. The Rainbow Wahine will play four games at Eller Media Stadium and two games at the Stephanie Lynn Craig Park in Henderson, Nev. Hawai'i will take on BYU, San Jose State, Texas State, Memphis, Colorado State and Nevada in the 15-team tournament.
 
The Rainbow Wahine went 2-1 in the rain-shortened Paradise Classic this past week. UH swept their opening doubleheader against Sacramento State and Boise State before falling to Oregon State in a pitcher's duel, 2-0. UH's pitchers, Brittany Hitchcock and Kanani Aina Cabrales, both had solid performances. In the opener, Hitchcock fired a three-hit shutout while striking out a career high 11 batters while walking none. No Hornets were able to reach third base in the game. In UH's loss to Oregon State, she gave up just four hits, including a two-run home run which proved to be the difference. Hitchcock faced just 26 batters in the game with a walk and eight strikeouts and the Beavers left just one runner on base. For the tournament, Hitchcock fired a pair of complete games and had an ERA of 1.00 with a walk and 19 strike outs. Aina Cabrales also earned a complete game win allowing just three runs on five scattered hits. She issued three walks while fanning seven Broncos in the win
 
On offense, it was UH's young guns who helped lift the 'Bows to their wins. Freshman rightfielder Chardonnay Pantastico led UH for the week, hitting .429 overall. Against Boise State, Pantastico went 3-for-3 at the plate, scoring a pair or runs with UH's first home run of the season.  Junior transfer Danielle Garcielita hit .333 (3-for-9) as the leadoff hitter with a run scored. Freshman Callee Heen started the season off with a bang, going 2-for-4 at the plate against Sac State with two doubles—including a bases clearing double accounting for her three RBI on the week.
 
With Hawai'i's two wins last week, head coach Bob Coolen now is just five wins away from recording his 1,000^th career win. He currently has a 995- 642-1 career record. His record with the Rainbow Wahine is 923-544-1.
 
UNLV DeMarini Desert Classic Information
Dates: Thursday, Feb. 16-Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017
Venues: Eller Media Stadium (Las Vegas, Nev.); Stephanie Lynn Craig Softball Park (Henderson, Nev.)
Game Schedule:
    Thurs., Feb. 16, 2:30 p.m. (HT) – BYU at Eller Media Stadium
    Friday, Feb. 17, 8:00 a.m. (HT) – San Jose State at Eller Media Stadium
    Friday, Feb. 17, 12:30 p.m. (HT) – Texas State at SLC 1
    Saturday, Feb. 18, 10:15 a.m. (HT) – Memphis at Eller Media Stadium
    Saturday, Feb. 18, 2:45 p.m. (HT) – Colorado State at SLC 3
    Sunday, Feb. 19, 11:15 a.m. (HT) – Nevada at Eller Media Stadium
Livestats: Live in-game stats will be available for UH's games against BYU, San Jose State, Memphis and Nevada.
All-time Records:
-BYU holds an 11-2 record against the 'Bows with the Cougars winning the last six. The last meeting was last season at the same UNLV tournament with BYU winning, 9-1 on Feb. 18, 2016. 
-Old Western Athletic Conference foe, San Jose State is a longtime opponent of the Rainbow Wahine. UH holds a 74-27 overall record against the Spartans with the 'Bows winning the last six.
-In 2015, UH defeated San Jose State twice in the Pepsi Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament with a 14-1 win in five innings on Feb. 27 and a 6-3 win on March 1.
-UH is 2-0 all-time against Texas State with the last meeting coming on Feb. 11, 2011 when UH held off the Bobcats, 1-0 in eight innings.
-Hawai'i holds a 4-1 advantage over Memphis with UH winning the last game on March 3, 2013, 5-1.
-The Rainbow Wahine hold a 10-7 edge over Colorado State with UH winning the last six meetings. The last time the two teams squared off was in 2008 during the Bank of Hawaii Invitational. UH won two games against the Rams, 8-4 on March 19 and 8-1 on March 20.
-UH is 23-20 against Nevada, but Nevada has won the last three games. The last time the former WAC rivals met was in the same UNLV tournament. The Wolf Pack defeated UH, 11-2 in five innings.