SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.—The University of Hawai'i softball team (24-14, 7-5 Big West) won the series but split Saturday's doubleheader at Cal Poly in front of a sellout crowd at Bob Janssen Field. Hawai'i won the series with a 5-1 win in the opener, but fell in the second game, 7-0. For the series, Izabella Martinez was red-hot at the plate hitting .700 for the series. The catcher/designated player hit safely in all three games and twice recorded three hits which are career single-game highs.
 
DH G1: Hawai'i 5, Cal Poly 1
Hawai'i starting pitcher Key-Annah Campbell-Pua earned a complete-game win in her homecoming to the California central coast. She allowed just one run in seven innings. She spaced six hits while walking a pair. She improved to 10-4 on the season. It is the first time since 2015 that UH has had two pitchers with double-digit wins when Brittany Hitchcock had 18 wins and Kanani Aina Cabrales earned 13 W's.
 
Both teams were scoreless until the Rainbow Wahine erupted for five runs in the fourth. Martinez led the inning off with a solo home run blast high over the right-centerfield fence. It was Martinez's fifth home run of the season and her career.  Later, with runners at first and second, Cira Bartolotti laid down a sacrifice bunt back to the pitcher, but the throw to first bounced into rightfield allowing Bethea (who had reached on a double) to score from second. Maycen Gibbs followed with a bases clearing single down the leftfield line that drove in both Rachel Sabourin and Bartolotti. Ka'ena Keliinoi kept things rolling with an RBI single to left-centerfield that pushed Xiao Gin across the plate for the 5-0 run. Martinez's home run was UH's 37th of the season, which is one more than the team hit in 42 total games in 2022. 
 
The Mustangs got one run back in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by Mylina Garza that scored Caroline Allman to cut their deficit to 5-1. In the bottom of the fifth, Cal Poly had runners at the corners with one out, but Martinez gunned out the runner trying to steal second for the second time of the game. A groundout to short ended the inning.
 
Cal Poly starter Ally Robbins threw the first three innings. She was responsible for five runs on four hits with three walks and a strikeout. Reliever Paige Maier shutout UH for the final four innings, giving up three hits with two walks and four strikeouts.
 
DH G2: Cal Poly 7, Hawai'i 0
The Mustangs pulled away from UH in the series finale, loading the bases in every inning until the fifth. In all, Cal Poly scored seven runs on 14 hits, but also left 13 runners on base. In the loss, 19 Rainbow Wahine entered the game—including five total pitchers.
 
The Mustangs' Sophia Ramuno earned the win to improve to 7-9 overall. She did not allow a run on five hits and three strikeouts. Maier made her second relief appearance of the day, throwing the final three innings. She preserved the shutout yielding just on e hit with four strikeouts.
 
Cal Poly loaded the bases with no outs to start the first inning. The Mustangs scored two runs off a fielder's choice throwing error from second to home allowing both Jessica Clements and Juju Sargent to score off the miscue. UH starter Brianna Lopez would settle down to get the next three straight outs to end the rally and the inning.
 
In a carbon copy of the first inning, the Mustangs loaded the bases with no outs in the second as well. UH got a fly out to center and a fielder's choice to third as Sabourin threw home to Martinez for the force out. But a Lopez walk to Julia Barnett forced Xiara Diaz home to lengthen CP's lead to 3-0.
 
The Mustangs started the third with a single and a walk. UH starter Brianna Lopez then exited the game as Millie Fidge entered in relief. Cal Poly went on to load the bases with one out. Clements drove in Blanchard to extend lead to 4-0.
 
Hawai'i loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fourth, but the Mustangs escaped getting a foul fly out and a strikeout to come away empty handed.
 
The Mustangs loaded the bases twice in the fourth and tacked on three more runs on a pair of RBI hits off of Fidge to pad the lead 7-0.
 
Cal Poly began the fourth with back-to-back singles with no outs. UH's Fidge then got a pair of strikeouts. The Mustangs then got a single to load the bases for the fourth-straight inning and Xiara Diaz blooped a single over the second baseman into shallow right to score Barrett and Barnett. Clements followed with an RBI single to score Perez. Fidge was then lifted for Chloe Borges in the circle. Borges walked the first batter she faced as CP juiced the bases for the second time in the inning. The 'Bows then got a groundout to second to end the inning down 7-0.
 
Lopez suffered the loss dropping her record to 12-7. She allowed four runs on six hits with three walks and a strikeout. Fidge threw the next 1-2/3 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits with two strikeouts. Borges recorded two outs with a walk. McKenna Kostyszyn threw 1-1/3 inning and Malia Williams got the final out giving up one hit.
 
Up next, the Rainbow Wahine will host UC Riverside in a three-game conference series beginning with a single game on Friday, April 14 at 6:00 P.M. HT, followed by a Saturday doubleheader on April 15 with a 4:00 P.M. HT.