The University of Hawai'i softball team (19-9) opens its Big West Conference season against long-time rival Long Beach State in a three-game series, starting on Friday, March 29 at 6:00 p.m.. The series will conclude with Saturday's doubleheader which starts at 2:00 p.m. at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

Games 29-31
Who: Hawai'i (19-9, 0-0 Big West) vs. Long Beach State (13-16, 0-0 Big West)
When: Friday, March 29 at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 30 at 2:00 p.m.-doubleheader
Where: Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium (1,200) – Honolulu, HI
Promotions: There will be an autograph session after Friday night's game.
Livestats: HawaiiAthletics.com
Tickets: Admission is FREE
Series History: Long Beach State leads the series 63-29. Last year the 49ers opened the BWC season with a sweep over the 'Bows.
 
Game Notes:

• The three-game series will be UH's final three games of a 23-game homestand.
• The Rainbow Wahine are off to its best start since 2013 when the 'Bows started the year at 20-7. That was UH's first year back in the Big West Conference
• Hawaii has outscored their opponents in the first inning alone, 45-to-7. Overall the Wahine's offense has outscored their opponents overall Early, 141-to-104. UH is 10-0 when scoring six or more runs. 
• Through just 28 games, UH has already drilled 32 home runs. Last year, the Rainbow Wahine hit a team total of 34 for the entire season. For Hawai'i, 46 of UH's 141 runs scores came from their home runs. UH has hit eight home runs to lead off the inning. Nine different Rainbow Wahine have already hit a home run this season led by Nicole Lopez's 10 and Callee Heen's nine. 
• Third baseman Nicole Lopez continues her offensive onslaught in her senior season. Lopez leads UH with a .419 batting average, 33 runs scored, 39 hits, eight doubles 10 home runs and a slugging percentage of .828. She also leads the league in home runs, home runs per game (0.36), and runs per game (1.18). Lopez also leads UH with 12 multiple-hit games and she recorded her longest hitting streak of her career hitting safely in 13-straight games. Lopez's run total of 33 is the most scored since Keiki Carlos finished with 38 in 2015. 
• Junior first baseman/catcher Callee Heen leads UH with 27 RBI, 16 walks and a .500 on-base percentage. She is currently second on the team behind Lopez with a .384 batting average (28-for-73), nine home runs, and a .781 slugging percentage. She leads UH with 10 multiple-RBI games.
• Senior pitcher Brittany Hitchcock returned after suffering a season-ending injury early last season and was granted a record-sixth year of eligibility. Thus far, she has an 8-5 record and has a team-low 2.10 ERA in 80.0 innings pitched. She has fired four complete-game shutouts and leads the conference in strikeout-to-walk ratio  (4.18) with 17 walks to 71 strikeouts.
• Head coach Bob Coolen is currently in his 28th season at the helm of the Rainbow Wahine program with a 992-607-1 record at UH and a 1,064-700-1 overall record in 32 seasons overall. Coolen now needs just 8 wins to hit the 1,000 win mark as the head coach at Hawai'i. He spent his first two seasons here as an assistant coach under then-head coach Rayla Allison. Coolen will join an elite group of UH coaches who have all earned 1,000 wins at the University of Hawai'i. Former men's and women's tennis coach Jim Schwitters earned 1,327 career victories during his 38-year career. Former women's volleyball head coach Dave Shoji recorded 1,202 wins during his 42-year career. Former UH baseball coach Les Murakami earned 1,079 total wins in his 30-year career.