HONOLULU—The University of Hawai'i softball team will host their official home opener this week with the Outrigger Hawai'i Invitational (February 24-26). Abilene Christian, Montana and North Dakota will all be competing in the three day tournament at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. Hawai'i enter the week with a 1-4 record after playing in UNLV's Rebel Classic during the first week of the season. Last week, UH swept Chaminade in an exhibition doubleheader, downing the Silverswords 4-0 and 12-2 in five innings.

* For those attending games this week, please be sure to visit the Game Day information page, which includes important information on COVID protocols,  digital ticketing, parking, clear bag policy, and more.
  

GAME 6-10: Outrigger Hawai'i Invitational
Tourney Schedule				Thursday, Feb. 24 3:30 p.m. Abilene Christian vs. North Dakota 6:00 p.m. HAWAI'I VS. MONTANA Friday, Feb. 25 12:00 p.m. Montana vs. Abilene Christian 2:30 p.m. Montana vs. North Dakota 5:00 p.m. Hawai'i vs. Abilene Christian 7:00 p.m. Hawai'i vs. North Dakota Saturday, Feb. 26 10:00 a.m. Bracket Gm. 1: #2 Seed vs. #3 Seed 12:00 p.m. Bracket Gm. 2: #1 Seed vs. #4 Seed 2:00 p.m. Loser Gm. 1 vs. Loser Gm. 2 4:00 p.m. Winner Gm. 1 vs. Winner Gm. 3
Location				Honolulu, O'ahu  - Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium
Television				FRIDAY'S UH DH ONLY - Spectrum Sports - Ch. 12 [SD] and 1012 [HD]
Live Stream				ESPN+ (Blacked out in Hawai'i)
Radio				CBS Sports Radio Hawaii / Sideline Hawaii App
Live Stats				HawaiiAthletics.com - Click on Live Stats link on game listing
Game Notes				Hawai'i (PDF) | Montana | Abilene Christian | North Dakota
Gameday Rosters				Gameday Rosters
Tickets				Admission is FREE at the RWSS
Social Media				@HawaiiSB  | #HawaiiSB | @HawaiiSoftball  | Facebook
Tickets				Admission is FREE at the RWSS
Promotions				Outrigger Hotels and Resorts is the sponsor of the Hawaii Invitational and will provide a combination of branded visors, cooling towels, and water-tight pouches for the winners of the popular "Ballpark Bingo." Also, Outrigger Hotels and Resorts canvas bags will be thrown into the stands during the fourth inning of every UH game.
Tickets				Admission is FREE at the RWSS

  
ALL-TIME RECORDS vs. OPPONENTSMONTANA Grizzlies (5-5, 0-0 Big Sky) - Series History: UH is 1-0 against the Grizzlies. The one win came in the 2017 Hawai'i Invitational tournament with UH winning 9-3 on 2/26/17.
ABILENE CHRISTIAN Wildcats (5-6, 0-0 WAC) - Series History: This is the first meeting against the Wildcats.
NORTH DAKOTA Fighting Hawks (4-6, 0-0 Summit) - Series History: Hawai'i is 2-0 against North Dakota. UH won a pair of one-run games in the 2018 Rainbow Wahine Classic. The last meeting resulted in a 4-3 win for UH on 3/16/18.

HEAD COACH BOB COOLENIn UH's final game at the Rebel Kickoff in Las Vegas, head coach Bob Coolen recorded his 1,100th career win with a 7-5 victory over Cal State Bakersfield. Coolen previously posted a 72-93 record in five seasons at Bentley. He then travelled all the way to Hawai'i to serve two seasons as an assistant coach (1990-91) under then head coach Rayla Allison. Since taking the reins in 1992, he has notched a 1,028-652-1 record at Hawai'i. He one of only four UH head coaches to have notched 1,000 wins during their UH coaching careers—Jim Schwitters (men's/women's tennis – 1,327 wins); Dave Shoji (women's volleyball – 1,202 wins), and Les Murakami (baseball – 1,079 wins). Coolen is entering his 31st year leading the Rainbow Wahine. Coolen currently has a 1,099-741-1 career record.

NEWS & NOTES

• Two weeks ago, Hawai'i opened the season on the road for just the second time in the last 20 years. UH went 1-4 in UNLV's Rebel Kickoff tournament against BYU, UNLV and Cal State Bakersfield. But the four losses included falling in two one-run games—including a slugfest that went to eight innings against host UNLV. Once UH's bats got going, the 'Bows out-hit their final three opponents, 35-25.
• Sophomore utility player Maya Nakamura led UH going 8-for-18 at the plate foe a .444 batting average. In UH's final two games, she went 3-for-5 at UNLV and 3-for-3 vs. CSU Bakersfield. She and Nawai Kaupe scored a team-high four runs. Nakamura also drove in four runs and hit a double against the Roadrunners.
• Super senior shortstop Nawai Kaupe was the catalyst and provided the power for the Rainbow Wahine. She hit safely in all five games and finished the week with a .389 batting average (7-for-18) and leads UH with a .722 slugging percentage and a .918 OPS (on-base + slg%). Kaupe drove in a team-high six RBI—including four runs in UH's 12-11 loss vs. UNLV. She has two of UH's four home runs.
• Senior right-fielder Mikaela Gandia-Mak started the tourney getting at least one hit in UH's first four games before going hitless vs. CSUB. She tied her career-high racking up three hits in UH's second game against UNLV.
• Junior first baseman Dallas Millwood got off to a slow start, but closed the tourney on a hot streak going 5-for-9 in the last two games. Against UNLV she went 2-for-5 and hit a two-run home run to catapult UH past UNLV for their first lead of the game, 5-4 lead.
• After starting the year going hitless in the opener, senior centerfielder Brittnee Rossi started a four-game hitting streak. On the second day of the Kickoff, UH shook up its lineup and it helped to jump-start the offense. Rossi moved down to hit fifth in the lineup from her regular spot being the lead-off hitter. She now is Millwood's protector in the five spot.
• UH's freshman pitching duo of Brianna Lopez and Chloe Borges showed their mettle as they battled through the tournament. Lopez notched her first collegiate win of her career, earning the 7-5 win the tourney finale. She went 1-1 for the week with a 4.67 ERA. Borges opened the season strong, falling in a 2-1 heartbreaker to former WAC-rival BYU. She fired two complete games—including a 7-1/3 outing vs. UNLV. Her 6.56 ERA does not reflect how well she pitched in the tourney.
• On offense, Borges also did damage as she launched her first collegiate home run, becoming the first pitcher to hit a homer since Kanani Aina Cabrales accomplished the feat against Portland State on Feb. 26, 2016.• Rossi will resume her role as leadoff batter and centerfielder for the fifth-straight year. Last season, Rossi finished second on the team with a .330 batting average. She led UH with seven doubles (tied with Maya Nakamura), 14 walks and eight stolen bases in nine attempts. Kate Robinson (2005-08) and Aina Cabrales were the most recent pitchers who hit for themselves. Stephanie Ricketts (2009-12) also hit for herself but only had 24 at-bats in her four year career.
• The pitching staff was dealt a late blow when last year's leading starter, Jetta Nannen, left the program after the start of this semester. The loss has left a lot of the pitching duties to this year's freshman pitching duo of Brianna Lopez and Chloe Borges. Lopez is a lefty and Borges is a righty who complement each other well. Senior Ashley Murphy will also be looked upon to shore up the pitching staff.