HONOLULU--The University of Hawai'i softball team (15-19, 8-5 Big West) returns home to host a three-game, Big West series against Cal State Bakersfield (4-33, 2-13 Big West). The Rainbow Wahine and Roadrunners will square off in a single game on Friday, April 19th at 6:00 p.m. HT followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, April 20th beginning at 2:00 p.m. HT. All games will be played at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
 

GAMES 35-37: HAWAI'I (15-19, 8-5 Big West) vs. CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD (4-33, 2-13 Big West)
Dates & Times				Friday, April 19, 2024 - 6:00 p.m. HT Saturday, April 20, 2024 - 2:00 p.m.HT/4:00 p.m. HT (DH)
Location				Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium (1,200) - Honolulu, O'ahu
Promotions				Great Prizes will be awarded for the winners of the popular "Ballpark Bingo." Also, UH prizes will be thrown into the stands during the fourth inning of every UH game. This weekend also features Youth softball teams, youth fans wearing a softball jersey can get UH stickers from "Bowhana" marketing representatives
Live Stats				Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Game Day Rosters				CLICK HERE
Game Notes				Hawai'i  | Cal State Bakersifled
Social Media				@HawaiiSB  | #HawaiiSB | @HawaiiSoftball  | Facebook
Tickets				Admission is FREE

HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (15-19, 8-5 Big West)Head Coach: Bob Coolen (33rd Season)
Record at UH: 1,072-709-1
Overall Record: 1,144-782-1 (38th season)
Series Record: UH leads 9-1
Last season: UH won the series on the road, 2-1 with UH winning the first game 7-1 (4/21/23) but splitting the doubleheader on 4/22/24, falling 5-8 but bouncing back in the rubber game to win the series with a 3-2 victory in finale.
Streak: UH won one

CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD ROADRUNNERS (4-33, 2-13 Big West)Head Coach: Letty Olivares (First Season)
CSUB /Career Record: 4-33


QUICK HITSLAST WEEK AT UC RIVERSIDE

• Hawai'i went 2-1 last week against the Highlanders to win their second series of the season. In the opener, UCR took a quick 4-0 lead in the first two innings--three runs were unearned due to two early errors. But UH erased their deficit by rallying for seven, unanswered runs en route to an 8-5 victory. UH's offensive output was partially fueled by a pair of solo home runs by Mya'Liah Bethea. 
• The Rainbow Wahine took their momentum into the start of the second game as UH loaded the bases in the first inning and got an RBI-single by Dallas Millwood followed by a grand slam by Chloe Borges for a quick 5-0 lead. But the HIghlanders fought their way back to score a run in the second, five in the fourth and another run in the fifth then held off UH for a 7-5 win to even the series at 1-1.
• Hawai'i found themselves trailing 2-0 again in the rubber game in the third inning. But the 'Bows bounced back to score two in the fourth and two more in the fifth to win the finale, 4-2 and the series 2-1.

HAWAI'I POWER SURGE

• The Rainbow Wahine as a team continue to lead the conference in home runs per game (.91) and slugging percentage (.408). Sixty of UH's 226 total hits have gone for extra bases (28 doubles, one triple and 31 home runs). UH's 31 total home runs is almost double the total of the next Big West team as Cal State Fullerton has 16 homers this season. With Bethea's two bombs this past week at UCR, she vaulted back into the league lead with nine home runs, while Borges grand slam raised her HR total to eight to tie her for second with CSUN's Shaylan Whatman.

KELIINOI IS CATALYST AT UCR

• Senior utility player Ka'ena Keliinoi continues to do whatever is asked of her to help the team. On offense this past week, she led UH with a .545 average, racking up a team-best six hits in 11 at-bats. Whe drove in one run and scored three in the series and came through with some clutch hitting when UH needed it. This season alone, she has started 31 games at third, but has also seen time at second base and in the outfield. However in her career, she has played all three outfield positions, catcher, second and short. She has only not appeared at first or as the pitcher on defense. Overall she is hitting .288 and leads UH with seven sacrifice bunts. 

BORGES COMING THROUGH AT THE PLATE

• Junior centerfielder/pitcher Chloe Borges enters this week leading the Big West with 29 RBI--eight coming this past week at UC Riverside. Four alone came in the second game at UCR on her first grand slam. It was UH's first grand slam since Izabella Martinez launched one against UC Riverside in 2023 in Honolulu. Borges leads UH with a .686 slugging percentage and a .430 on-base percentage. She is second in the BW with eight home runs. She is also second on the team hitting .314 overall, going 22-for-70 at the plate. She has reached base safely in 18-straight games and leads UH with eight multiple-RBI games thus far. 

KOSTRENCICH EARNS THREE-STRAIGHT COMPLETE-GAME WINS

• Junior Addison Kostrencich may give up early runs to opponents, but after she gets past that, she finds her groove and has held down opponents the rest of the game. She earned both of UH's wins last week's series at UC Riverside in complete game efforts. In her two appearances, she threw a total of 14.0 innings with a 1.00 ERA with three walks and two strikeouts. In conference action, she improved to 5-1 with a 2.58 ERA  in 43.1 innings pitched while holding opponents to a .247 batting average. Kostrencich leads the Big West with 10 complete games thrown.

NAKAMURA LOST FOR THE REST OF 2024

• Senior utility player Maya Nakamura suffered a season-ending injury in the first inning of UH's final game vs. Cal Poly two weeks ago. She concludes her stellar career as one of the best second baseman in recent history. After a slow offense start this season, she quickly ramped up her game and was on-fire in conference action, leading UH with a .450 batting average. Overall, Nakamura saw her season end while leading UH with 22 runs scored, seven home runs, a .649 slugging percentage and 13 walks. She was a huge source of experience on the team and her loss will surely be missed.

MARTINEZ GUNNING RUNNERS OUT

• Junior catcher Izabella Martinez continues to lead the Big West as she's thrown out 13 runners trying to steal on her which ranks her No. 5 in the nation in the category. One of the few collegiate catches who calls her own game, Martinez is currently hitting .281 overall, but has raised her average to .350 in conference action. She is tied with 14 hits with Keliinoi in conference games and leads the team with three Big West doubles.