RIVERSIDE, Calif.--The University of Hawai'i softball team (1-4) embarks on its first and only pre-season road trip of 2024. The Rainbow Wahine's first game at Cal Baptist was rained out on Tuesday. The 'Bows now turn their focus to the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif.. UH will play five games in four days opening against Rutgers on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 10:00 a.m. HT. On Friday. Feb. 23 UH will play a doubleheader, starting with old Western Athletic Conference rival Fresno State at 8:30 a.m. HT followed by California at 11:00 a.m. HT. Hawai'i is off on Saturday, but will conclude the tournament with a Sunday double-dip on Sunday against Illinio at 6:30 a.m. HT followed by Tennessee at 9:30 a.m. HT. Previously, Hawai'i competed in the tourney when it was  named the Cathedral City Classic for four straight seasons from 2008-2011.
 

MARY NUTTER COLLEGIATE CLASSIC
Opponents | Date | Time				Rutgers | Thurs., Feb. 22 | 10:00 a.m. HT (Wrigley) Fresno State | Fri., Feb. 23 | 8:30 a.m. HT (Yankee) California | Fri., Feb. 23 | 11:00 a.m. HT (Yankee) Illinois | Sun., Feb. 25 | 6:30 a.m. HT (Des Moines) No. 2 Tennessee | Sun., Feb. 25 | 9:30 a.m HT (Fenway)
Location				Big League Dreams Complex (Cathedral City, Calif.)
Live Stream				FloSoftball
Live Stats				Rutgers - None Fresno State California Illinois Tennessee
MNCC Website				CLICK HERE
Game Notes				Hawai'i | Rutgers | Fresno State | Illinois |  Tennessee
Social Media				@HawaiiSB  | #HawaiiSB | @HawaiiSoftball  | Facebook

HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (1-4, Big West)Head Coach: Bob Coolen (33rd Season)
Record at UH: 1,055-805-1
Overall Record: 1,153-787-1 (38th season)

RUTGERS  (6-4, Big Ten)Head Coach: Kristen Butler 
Record at RU: 110-135 (Sixth Season)
Overall Record: 214-257 (Ninth Season)
All-Time Series: First meeting

FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS (7-4, Mountain West)Head Coach: Stacy May-Johnson (Third Season)
Record at FSU: 42-67
Overall Record: 83-102 (Fifth Season)
All-Time Series: 23-66
Last meeting: UH defeated the Bulldogs in the 2019 Paradise Classic in Honolulu, 7-6
Streak: UH won one

CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (10-1, Pac-12)Head Coach: Chelsea Spencer (Fourth Season)
Record at Cal: 80-68-2
Overall Record: Same
All-Time Series: 11-26
Last meeting: UH defeated the Golden Bears 6-1 on 3/12/22 in theBank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic
Streak: UH won one

ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI (1-4 Big Ten)Head Coach: Tyra Perry (Ninth Season)
Record at Illinois: 243-166
Overall Record: 652-554-1 (22nd Season)
All-Time Series Record: 2-0
Last meeting:  UH defeated Illinois, 7-2 on 3/24/2005 in the Stanford Classic tournament
Streak: UH won two

No. 5/5 TENNESSEE LADY VOLS (4-2, SEC)Head Coach: Karen Weekly
Record at Tennessee: 1,041-328 (23 Season)
Overall Record: 1,264-425-2 (28 seasons)
All-Time Series Record: 2-8
Last meeting: The Lady Vols defeated UH 10-5 on 3/15/2018 in the Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic
Streak: Tennessee won last three

NEWS & NOTES• Hawai'i enters this week with a 1-4 overall record after playing in the Bank of Hawai'i Paradise Classic. UH's lone win came against Kansas City, but the 'Bows fell to Nevada, BYU and Ole Miss twice.
• Junior catcher Izabella Martinez leads UH on offense with a .545 (6-for-11) batting average and three RBI. Last season, she finished the season ranked as the sixth hardest player to strike out in the NCAA DI with just four strikeouts in 53 games. 
• Junior transfer pitcher Addison Kostrencich earned her first win as a Rainbow Wahine tossing a complete-game, two-hit shutout against Kansas City. For the weekend, she went 1-1 falling in the tourney finale to Ole Miss.
• Highly touted senior second baseman Maya Nakamura has gotten off to a slow start offensively, but even though she's batting .071 (1-for-14), she leads UH with three runs scored. Defensively, she has been solid, making some highlight-reel plays at second.
• Senior designated player Haley Johnson has been a steady force batting clean-up, hitting 0222 (4-for-12) with a double and an RBI. Johnson has also spent some time behind the dish in relieve of Martinez at catcher.
• The UH offense returns its top six hitters from last year's team who accounted for 74% of the team's hits, 66% of UH's runs scored, 73% of RBI, and 72% of the team's home run production.
• Senior utility player Mya'Liah Bethea began the season whacking a pair of home runs on the opening week. For her career, Bethea has 17 home runs. Last year, she led the Big West with 12 home runs.
• Veteran Infield Leadership - UH returns seven upperclassmen in the starting defense--including the entire infield and depending on the lineup, two in the outfield. Except for the pitchers, the 'Bows have junior Izabella Martinez returning at catcher and senior Dallas Millwood returns to first base after a season-ending injury suffered in the second week last year curtailed her season short. Second baseman Nakamura and senior shortstop Malia Xiao Gin return as the perennial double-play duo up the middle. And senior utility player Ka'ena Keliinoi returns to play primarily at the hot corner.
• Hawai'i lost Cira Bartolotti who started all 53 games in centerfield last year, but junior Chloe Borges has emerged as one of the starters there. When she pitches, senior Mya'Liah Bethea may shift over to center from left. Last season, after MIllwood went down, Bethea started the rest of the season at first base. Rightfield may be the only position where an underclassman gets the nod. Sophomores Maycen Gibbs has had the early lock on rightfield and sophomore Cierra Yamamoto will most likely see time in leftfield. 
• The pitching staff has been led by junior transfer Addison Kostrencich and sophomore Key-Annah Campbell-Pua with Kostrencich posting a 1-1 record while Campbell-Pua started two games. She took a 2-0 lead into the sixth inning with two outs before giving up a three-run, heartbreaking home run against BYU. Borges made one start but struggled in UH's first game against Ole Miss. Millie Fidge made a couple of relieve appearances and McKenna Kostyszyn came in relief against the Rebels.
• After a standout season in which she earned all-Big West First Team and NFCA All-Region honors, senior second baseman Maya Nakamura was the lone Rainbow Wahine to be names to the All-Big West Preseason Team. Nakamura was outstanding both on offense and defense last year, leading UH with a .390 batting average, a .531 on-base%, 35 runs scored, and 29 walks.
• UH was picked to finish sixth in the 2024 Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll. The preseason poll was voted on by the conference's head coaches. Hawai'i garnered 46 total points--just one point behind UC Davis who had 47. Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State were separated by just two points at the top of the poll. The Titans are the preseason No. 1 with 77 points and six first-place votes while the defending BW champions Beach had 75 points and four first-place votes.