HONOLULU--The University of Hawai'i softball team (7-4) returns home to begin a month-long homestand beginning with the Bank of Hawaii Invitational which runs from Feb. 24-26, 2023. Marist, Seattle U, and St. Bonaventure will be competing in the three day tournament at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. Last week, Hawai'i posted a 4-1 record at the UNLV Desert Classic.
| BANK OF HAWAII INVITATIONAL (Feb. 24-26, 2023) - Hawai'i (BW), Marist (MAAC), Seattle U (WAC), St. Bonaventure (A10) |
| Tournament Schedule |
Friday, Feb. 24, 2023
1:00 P.M. HT - Seattle U vs. St. Bonaventure
3:30 p.m. HT - Seattle U vs. Marist
6:00 P.M. HT - HAWAI'I VS. MARIST
Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023
10:00 A.M. HT - Seattle U vs. St. Bonaventure
12:30 p.m. HT - Marist vs. St. Bonaventure
3:00 P.M. HT - HAWAI'I VS. SEATTLE U
5:00 P.M. HT - HAWAI'I VS. MARIST
Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023
11:00 A.M. HT - Marist vs. Seattle U
1:30 P.M. HT - Marist vs. St. Bonaventure
4:00 P.M. HT - HAWAI'I VS. ST. BONAVENTURE |
| Location |
Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium (1,200) - Honolulu, O'ahu |
| Promotions |
Bank of Hawaii is the tournament sponsor of the Invitational and will provide tote bags and vouchers for the winners of the popular "Ballpark Bingo." Also, T-shirts will be thrown into the stands during the fourth inning of every UH game. |
| Radio |
ONLY FOR SUNDAY'S GAME VS. ST. BONAVENTURE (2/26) - ESPN Honolulu (1420 AM, 92.7 FM) -Tiff Wells (play-by-play), Kamalani Dung (color) |
| Audio Stream |
ONLY FOR SUNDAY'S GAME VS. ST. BONAVENTURE (2/26) - ESPN Honolulu / Sideline Hawaii App |
| Live Stats |
HawaiiAthletics.com |
| Game Day Rosters |
Bank of Hawaii Invitational Rosters |
| Game Notes |
Hawai'i | Marist | Seattle U | St. Bonaventure |
| Social Media |
@HawaiiSB  | #HawaiiSB | @HawaiiSoftball  | Facebook  |
| Tickets |
Admission is FREE |
HEAD COACH: Bob CoolenOverall record: 1,129-764-1 (37th Season)
At Hawai'i: 1,057-671-1 (32nd Season)
MARIST RED FOXES (1-4, 0-0 MAAC)
Series History: UH leads Marist 5-0
Streak: UH has won their five meetings vs. the Red Foxes. In 2017, UH defeated Marist three times--twice in the Outrigger Resorts Spring Fling Tournamtn and once in the Hawaii Pacific Health Rainbow Wahine Classic. All three games were shutouts.
Head Coach: Joe Ausanio (15th season)
SEATTLE U RED HAWKS (7-3, 0-0 WAC)
Series History: UH trails SU, 5-6
Streak: The Redhawks have won the last six meetings. UH's last win against SU was in 2014
Head Coach: Geoff Hirai (Eighth season)
ST. BONAVENTURE BONNIES (0-0, 0-0 A10)
Series History: UH leads, 2-1
Streak: UH won their last meeting which was an 11-2 (5 inning) win on March 6, 2019 to open the Outrigger Resorts Spring Fling Tournament in Honolulu.
Head Coach: Daniel Sperl (First season)
NEWS & NOTES•UH won its first three games in Las Vegas by the mercy rule. UH downed Montana, 10-1 and UNLV, 12-2 both in five innings on the opening day. The 'Bows then defeated CSU Bakersfield in a non-conference game, 14-6 in six innings. It marked the first time since 2011 that UH won three-straight games by mercy rule. UNLV edged out UH, 5-4 to end Day 2. In the tourney finale, UH defeated Montana, 7-0 to end the week with a 4-1 record as Key-Annah Campbell-Pua fired a no-hitter.
• 'BOWS SWEEP BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARDS - Utility player Mya-Liah Bethea earned her first career Big West Field Player of the Week award and rookie Key-Annah Campbell-Pua was named both the BW Pitcher and Freshman of the Week after both had stellar performances in Las Vegas.
Bethea continued her hot hitting in Week 2 as the Las Vegas-native had a standout homecoming weekend. Bethea blasted three home runs—two coming in UH's first game vs. UNLV. She hit .471 in five games, racking up a team-high eight hits. Four of her eight hits went for extra bases (one double, three homers) and she was also tied with team highs of seven runs scored and eight RBI. Her 1.059 slugging percentage was also a team-best for the week. On defense, she was moved from leftfield to first base in the middle of their opening game and tallied 26 put-outs with no errors.
Campbell-Pua was untouchable against Montana on Sunday, firing a no-hitter while facing the minimum 21 batters. It was UH's first seven inning no-hitter since 2012 when Stephanie Ricketts recorded her sixth and final no-hitter on her own Senior Night against WAC-rival Fresno State in 2012. Against Montana, Campbell-Pua struck out a career-high six batters with no walks while the defense was solid making all the plays including turning a pair of double plays to erase the two runners who had reached first (one on an error and one on a swinging strike three passed ball). UH third baseman Rachel Sabourin ended the game making a diving stop towards the line and from her knees gunned down the batter/runner at first to end the game.
For the week, Campbell-Pua went 2-0 with wins over UNLV and Montana. In 13.0 innings, she tallied a miniscule 0.54 ERA with nine strikeouts and four walks while holding opponents to a .049 batting average. On Friday, she earned the win throwing six innings and striking out three in UH's 12-2 mercy-rule rout vs. UNLV.
• OFFENSIVE POWER SURGE - After hitting 36 home runs all of last season, Hawai'i already has launched 13 (by five different players) after the first 11 games of the season. Twenty-five of UH's 75 total runs have come off of the longball. Bethea leads the 'Bows with six round-trippers AND she currently ranked No. 1 in the NCAA DI in home runs per game (tied with two others). Although Bethea had just two homers through her first two seasons at UH, she has come out on fire in her junior season.
Rachel "Bueller"Sabourin is second on the team with four home runs--two each in each of UH's first two tourneys. Her first pair of HR's were pinch-hit home runs that came against St. Mary's-CA (2/10) and Utah Tech (2/11). In UH's first game against Montana last week, an injury forced UH to shuffle the defense around which resulted in Sabourin starting the last four games at third.
Coming into the season, one of the big questions was who was going to fill the offensive void left with the graduation of Nawai Kaupe, Brittnee Rossi, and Mikayla Gandia-Mak--who accounted for 58 of UH's 171 runs, 89 of 266 hits and 16 of 36 home runs last year. As a team, the 2023 UH squad has filled that void, hitting a solid .320 with a .520 team slugging percentage.
• TURNING TWO - Last year, UH finished the season ranked No. 1 in all of the NCAA DI in double plays recording 26 twin-killings. The defense has picked up right where it left off, leading the nation again. UH has already posted 11 double plays averaging .85 DP's per game which ranks UH at No. 1 in the nation. The second-place teams (Manhattan, NIU and Radford) are averaging .80 DPs/game but have just five through the first two weeks. Eight total teams have 10 double plays on the season, but are averaging .70 or below per game.
• DEFENSIVE SHUFFLE - Senior first baseman Dallas Millwood had started the first seven games before going down with an injury suffered while scoring against Montana in the opening game at UNLV. Due to her injury, the UH defense has shifted a bit - Bethea moved from leftfield to first base; Ka'ena Keliinoi moved from third base to leftfield; and Rachel "As a sophomore last season, utility player Bethea played leftfield, first base and catcher while hitting just .178 (16-for-90) in 39 games played. This year, Bethea has totally flipped the script. She has started both in left and at first, but it is her offensive prowess that has seen a jaw-dropping improvement. Overall she is fourth on the team hitting .382 and leads the team with six home runs, 13 hits and is tied with a team-best 10 runs scored and 13 RBI. Eight of her 13 hits have gone for extra bases (two doubles, six HR's) and she is second on the team with a .971 slugging percentage.
• BETHEA BLASTING OFF - As a sophomore last season, utility player Bethea played leftfield, first base and catcher while hitting just .178 (16-for-90) in 39 games played. This year, Bethea has totally turned things around. She started both in left and at first, but it is her offense prowess that has seen a jaw-dropping improvement. Overall she is fourth on the team hitting .382 and leads the team with six home runs, 13 hits and is tied with a team-best 10 runs scored and 13 RBI. Eight of her 13 hits have gone for extra bases (two doubles, six HR's) and she is second on the team with a .971 slugging percentage.
• BUELLER BOMBING - After an injury plagued junior season in 2022, Rachel "Bueller" Sabourin has returned with a vengeance for her senior campaign and has not disappointed. Since entering the lineup fulltime at third, she has continued her hot hitting and has patrolled the 'hot corner'. On offense, her .421 batting average and 1.105 slugging percentage leads UH (8-for-19) with a double and four home runs. She is third on the team with 11 RBI. Last season, Sabourin was only able to appear in 17 games and hit .138 for the year. On defense she has made the plays--including making a diving backhand stop towards the third baseline and from her knees, throwing out the batter/runner for the final out of Campbell-Pua's no-hitter on Sunday.
• LOPEZ FIRING AWAY - Sophomore pitcher Brianna Lopez continues to anchor the UH pitching staff. She leads UH with a 4-1 record and has a team-low 1.81 ERA through 27.0 innings pitched. She has tossed three complete games in five starts with 12 walks and 15 strikeouts.
• MARTINEZ MAKING IMPACT- Sophomore catcher Izabella Martinez continued her hot hitting in Las Vegas. She has reaching base safely in 10-straight games for a team-best. She is second on the team hitting a lofty .393 batting average and is one of three UH players to already have recorded double-digit hits and runs scored with 11 hits and 10 runs. She leads UH with three doubles and she hit her first collegiate home run on the first day of the season vs. St. Mary's. She started the first nine games at catcher but the last two have been spent as the designated player. On defense, she has been on point behind the plate, calling her own pitches in every appearance.
• GIN LEADING OFF - Junior shortstop Malia Xiao Gin has served as UH's leadoff hitter in every game thus far and has set the table well for her following teammates. She has drawn a team-best 12 walks and is tied for the team-lead with 10 runs scored. Currently, she is hitting .387 going 12-for-31 at the plate with a double and a triple for a .484 slugging percentage. Gin, who graduated Summa cum Laude from Oregon State in three years with a degree in kiniesiology in 2022 is currently going for her master's degree in KRS. She appeared in 91 games with the Beavers with 84 starts at second and one at pitcher.
• JOHNSON CLUTCH AT PLATE - Sophomore Haley Johnson has mostly started as UH's designated player, but in the last two games served as the catcher. She has come thru in the clutch, hitting .364 (12-for-33) overall with two doubles and a triple. With runners in scoring position, she is hitting .438 with seven hits in 16 opportunities and she is a perfect 5-for-5 with runners at third and less than two outs.
• CAMPBELL-PUA MAKING IMPACT EARLY - Rookie starter Key-Annah Campbell-Pua has already proven what she is capable of in the circle. Aside from tossing UH's first seven-inning no-hitter in 11 years, she is 3-1 overall with a 2.24 ERA in 25.0 innings pitched. She has fired three complete games while striking out 14 to just seven walks. She has held opponents to a .153 batting average.
• BARTOLOTTI HOLDING OWN IN CENTER - Replacing four-year starting centerfielder Brittnee Rossi was not an easy task, but Cira Bartolotti has made the position her own. The senior from Kapolei High School has bided her time, primarily serving as a pinch runner through her first three seasons at UH. But this year she's started all 11 games in center and has done well making the plays and tracking down the balls in the gap. On defense she has made 19 putouts with one assist. On offense, she is hitting .259 (7-for-27) with six runs scored and three RBI.
• HEAD COACH BOB COOLEN - Bob Coolen is in his 32nd season as UH's head coach and 37th overall. He entered the 2023 season ranked at No. 30 with 1,122 wins on the All-Time NCAA Winningest Coaches list (by victories), which includes all collegiate divisions and past/present coaches). He is ranked No. 20 in NCAA All-Time Division I Winningest Coaches By Victories and amongst NCAA Division I active Division I coaches, his 1,122 wins currently ranks him at No. 5. Coolen is the second longest tenured coach at UH behind sailing's Andy Johnson.
