LA JOLLA, Calif.--The University of Hawai'i softball team (11-16, 4-2 Big West) travels for a three-game Big West series at UC San Diego (11-20, 4-2 BW) this week. In anticipation of inclement weather rolling through the area, the teams have altered their game schedule for the weekend. The doubleheader will be played on Friday, March 29th beginning at 12:00 p.m. HT followed by the series finale on Saturday, March 30th at 10:00 a.m. HT. All games will be played at the Triton Softball Field.
 

GAMES 28-30:  HAWAI'I (11-16, 4-2 Big West) vs. UC San Diego (11-20, 4-2 Big West)
Dates & Times				Friday, March 29, 2024 (DH) - 12:00 p.m. HT/2:30 p.m. HT Saturday, March 30, 2024 - 10:00 a.m.HT
Location				Triton Softball Field (750) - La Jolla, Calif.
Video Stream				ESPN+ - Friday: Game 1 | Game 2; Saturday: Game 3
Audio Stream				KSDT Radio - CLICK HERE
Live Stats				CLICK HERE
Game Notes				Hawai'i  | UC San Diego
Social Media				@HawaiiSB  | #HawaiiSB | @HawaiiSoftball  | Facebook

HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (11-16, 4-2 Big West)Head Coach: Bob Coolen (33rd Season)
Record at UH: 1,068-706-1
Overall Record: 1,140-779-1 (38th season)
Series Record: UH leads 6-4
Last season: UCSD won the opener, 4-1, but the 'Bows bounced back to sweep Saturday's doubleheader with a pair of shutouts, 2-0 and 3-0. In the series finale, UH's former pitcher Brianna Lopez fired a no-hitter while Haley Johnson had an RBI drouble to drive in Maya Nakamura and a two-run home run to score Nakamura to account for all three of UH's runs.
Streak: UH won 2

UC SAN DIEGO (11-20, 4-2 Big WestHead Coach: Patti Gerckens (32nd Season)
UCSD Record: 853-711
UCSD Last Week: After sweeping Cal State Bakersfield to open the Big West season, UCSD took the first game at UC Santa Barbara, but fell in the final two games to come into this week with a 4-2 conference mark.



QUICK HITS

• HAWAi'I SWEEPS CSUN - The Rainbow Wahine swept CSUN for the just the second time since UH rejoined the Big West in 2013. It was UH's first BW sweep since taking all three games against Cal State Fullerton in UH's final home series of 2022 
  • In the CSUN series opener, things did not start well for UH as the Matadors opened the first game with back-to-back solo home runs by their first two batters. But Hawai'i responded by scoring 11 unanswered runs for an 11-2 mercy-rule win to begin the series last Friday. Addison Kostrencich earned her second complete-game win.
  • UH's Key-Annah Campbell-Pua started the opener of Saturday's doubleheader. Reliever Millie Fidge threw to a few batters but was unable to register an out, so Campbell-Pua re-entered and finished the game. UH put up five runs in the fourth on solo homers by Nakamura and Chloe Borges plus a three-run bomb by Ka'ena Keliinoi for a 5-0 lead. In the sixth, the Matadors loaded the bases on an error and two walks. A third-straight walk by UH pitching pushed a CSUN run across the plate. Back-to-back RBI singles drove in three more CSUN runs to cut their deficit to 5-4. Campbell-Pua then re-entered the game at pitcher. UH catcher Izabella Martinez gunned out a Matador runner attempting to steal third for the second out and got out of the inning with a pop out to short.
  • In the series finale, UH scored two runs early to take a 2-0 lead on a Chloe Borges RBI-single in the second and an RBI-hit by Maycen Gibbs in the fourth. CSUN cut their deficit in half on a solo homer in the fifth and went on to load the bases. But Borges, who started the game in centerfield, re-entered at pitcher and was able to get a a check-swing strikeout to snuff out the Matador rally. In the sixth, Borges blasted a two-run bomb that gave UH a 4-1 lead from which CSUN could not recover from.
• BORGES NAMED BIG WEST FIELD PLAYER OF THE WEEK - For her efforts in centerfield, at the plate and in the pitching circle, junior Chloe Borges was voted BW Field Player of the Week on Monday. For the series, Borges hit a team-high .625, going 5-for-8 from the plate with a team-best six RBI. She came through with two home runs with a 1.375 slugging percentage and a .625 on-base percentage on offense. As a pitcher, she earned UH's first save of the season, coming into the game with a 2-1 lead and a runner on base. She got a strike out with the bases loaded to end the fifth and a strikeout swinging to end the game. She joins Maya Nakamura as the only two Rainbow Wahine to earn the conference's weekly award this season. Currently, Borges is hitting .314.
• UH RISING - After struggling at the plate during their tough non-conference schedule, the Rainbow Wahine have been turning things around on offense since beginning leauge-play. Before the start of the Big West season, UH was hitting .256 and now enters this week as a team hitting .268 and the pitchers had a 5.33 ERA which has been lowered a few notches to 5.07 in the last six games. In conference only games, UH has out-hit their opponents .315-t0-.304 and the UH pitching staff has a combined 4.08 ERA to 5.80 opponent ERA
• JOHNSON BACK ON TOP - Senior designated player Haley Johnson went 4-for-8 at the plate last week to rise atop the UH lineup with a team-best .347 batting average. She has a team-high 26 hits and five doubles and is tied with Nakamura with a team-high six mulitple-hit games. Earlier this season, Johnson reached base safely for a team-best 14-straight games.
• NAKAMURA FINDING GROVE - After a slow start to the season, senior second baseman has regained her form and is leading UH in conference with a .545 battting average through six games. She is hitting 6-for-11 and leads UH with seven runs scored, a 1.091 slugging percentage, five walks and a .688 on-base percentage. Overall, Nakamura has scored a team-best 20 runs and is second on the team with 19 RBI, 12 walks (tied with Izabella Martinez) and has raised her overall batting average to .309.
• KOSTRENCICH WITH WINNING RECORD -  With two wins this past week vs. CSUN, UH starter Addison Kostrencich is the first pitcher to have a winning record this season. She evened her mark at 5-5 with her five-inning complete game to open the CSUN series, then threw for four solid innings in the series finale to earn her second win of the week to finish the week with a 6-5 overall record. She enters this week with a 5.05 ERA with six complete games in 12 starts. She has thrown a team-high 62.1 innings.
• BETHEA & BORGES BLASTING BOMBS - Both Mya'Liah Bethea and Chloe Borges continue to lead the Big West in total home runs. Both enter this week with seven to lead the conference. Bethea, a senior utility player who has mostly started in leftfield but has also seen time at first and in centerfield this year, the conference from wire-to-wire last year in home runs. This year, she is hitting .258 overall (16-for-62) with nine of her 16 going for extra bases (two double and seven homers). She is second on the team scoring 14 runs.
• KELIINOI ADVANCING RUNNERS - Although senior utility player Ka'ena Keliinoi is hitting .247, her value on offense is critical as she is able to advance the runners in front of her. She is 23-for-42 (.548) in successfully advancing runners when she is at the plate. She leads UH with six sacrifice bunts and has primarily started at third base, but has seen spot duty in the outfield as well.