RIVERSIDE, Calif.--The University of Hawai'i softball team (8-2) embarks on its first roadtrip of the 2025 season this week. First the Rainbow Wahine will battle Cal Baptist on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at the John C. Funk Softball Stadium. The 'Bows will then compete in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic held at the Big League Dreams complex in Cathedral City, Calif. from Feb. 21-23, 2025. Hawai'i is off to its best start since the 2019 season when the 'Bows began the year with a 9-2 record.
| GAME #11 - at Cal Baptist |
| Opponent |
Cal Baptist Lancers (5-6, 0-0 WAC) |
| Dates - Start Times: |
Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025 - 4:00 p.m. HT |
| Site |
John C. Funk Softball Stadium |
| Live Stream Video |
ESPN+ |
| Live Stats |
CLICK HERE |
| SOCIAL MEDIA |
@UofHawaiiTennis  | #HawaiiWTEN | #hawaiiwomenstennis  | Facebook  |
HAWAI'I RAINBOW WAHINE (8-2, Big West)
Head Coach: Bob Coolen (34th Season)
Record at UH: 1,108-718-1 (34th season)
Overall Record: 1,180-811 (39th season)
CAL BAPTIST LANCERS (5-6, 0-0 WAC)
Head Coach: Mike Smith (12th Season)
Overall record: Cal Baptist DI - 91-80 / Cal Baptist total: 558-138
Career Record (DI): 370-265
Series Record: First meeting. Last year the two teams were rained out in Riverside before the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
BYU COUGARS (6-2, 0-0 Big 12)
Head Coach: Gordon Eakin (23rd Season)
Overall Record: 831-395
Series Record: BYU leads, 17-2
Streak: BYU has won last 12
Last Meeting: Last year, the Cougars edged out UH, 3-2 scoring all three runs in the top of the seventh for the win.
NEVADA WOLF PACK (8-2, 0-0 Mountain West)
Head Coach: Victoria Hayward (First Season)
Series Record: UH leads 24-21
Streak: Nevada won last two
Last Meeting: Last year the Wolf Pack defeated UH, 10-2 in five innings to open the 2024 season
SAINT MARY'S (CA) GAELS (2-6, 0-0 West Coast Conference)
Head Coach: Sonja Garnett (Seventh Season)
Overall record: 102-169
Series Record: UH leads 15-4
Streak: UH has won the last five games
Last meeting: UH won last meeting 8-0 in six innings on Feb. 9, 2019.
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT LIONS (3-8, 0-0 West Coast Conference)
Head Coach: Tairia Flowers (Fourth Season)
Overall record: 118-93
Series Record: UH leads 34-11
Streak: LMU won last four
Last meeting: LMU played in last year's Spring Fling Tournament in Honolulu and defeated UH, 4-2
SAN DIEGO STATE AZTECS (8-2, 0-0 Mountain West)
Head Coach: Stacey Nuveman Deniz (Fourth Season)
Overall record: 117-55
Series Record: UH leads 29-12
Last meeting: UH won the last meeting, 1-0 on March 16, 2006 in the Bank of Hawai'i Invitational
Hawai'i went 5-1 this past week to bring their overall record to 9-2--tying its best start since 2019. The Rainbow Wahine went 4-1 in last week's Spring Fling Tournament in Honolulu and then the 'Bows won its first road game of the season on Wednesday at Cal Baptist 2-1.
NEWS & NOTESCOMEBACK KIDS SHOWING RESILIENCE
In the Spring Fling Tournament last week, UH found itself trailing in all four of the games that Hawai'i won.
• In the tourney opener vs. Western Illinois (2/13), UH found itself trailing the Leathernecks, 5-0. In the fourth inning, UH got one run back on an RBI-groundout by
Milan Ah Yat. Then in the fifth,
Liliana Thomas drilled an RBI-single up the middle and later in the same frame,
Chloe Borges launched a grand slam to push UH into the lead for good. UH would go on to defeat WIU, 11-5.
• In UH's first game vs. Utah Tech (2/14), the 'Bows were trailing 2-1 going into the seventh. UH's Millie Fidge came to the plate with the bases loaded, and crushed a single down the third base line to bring home both the tying run (
Carys Murakami) and the winning run (Kayara Tuiloma) for the walkoff, 3-2 victory.
• Against Sacramento State (2/15), UH gave up a first inning homer to the Hornets to trail right at the get-go. But the 'Bows'
Jamie McGaughey came through with clutch RBI-singles in the first and the third innings to give UH a 2-1 lead. UH starter
Macy Brandl and the UH defense took care of the rest, shutting down Sac State for the rest of the game for a 2-1 win.
• In the tourney finale, UH trailed Utah Tech (2/16) by the third inning, 5-2. Later the score was tied at 6-6 and the game went to extra innings. In the eighth, UH reliever Borges held the Trailblazers off the scoreboard on defense. In the bottom of the eighth with the runner at second,
Milan Ah Yat blasted a two-run home run to down Utah Tech for the second time in a week with a walk-off. In the game, Borges not only earned the win as the pitcher, but also went 2-for 4 with three RBI as the cleanup hitter.
TRANSFERS MAKING IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Four of UH's five incoming transfers have made an immediate impact.
•
Macy Brandl is 4-0 as a starter and has a 2.85 ERA in 34.1 innings pitched. She has tossed four complete games in seven appearances. On Wednesday, She came into the game in the seventh inning with a 2-1 lead and a runner on base. She got three outs to earn her first save of the season. She has a team-high 26 strikeouts to 10 walks and has fired one shutout thus far. The sophomore transfer came to UH after a year at Fullerton College.
• Junior
Carys Murakami has started all 11 games at second base and is curretnly hitting .269. She is tied for the team lead with seven runs scored. Murakami, who played her first two seasons at CSUN, is a graduate of Maryknoll School (Honolulu)
• Sophomore
Milan Ah Yat has started all of UH's games at shortstop thus far. In Spring Fling finale, Ah Yat blasted a two-run walk off home run that propelled UH to an 8-6 win over Utah Tech. Ah Yat returned home after a year at Loyola Marymount. She is the daughter of former Rainbow baseball pitcher Paul Ah Yat (1994-96). She is a graduate of University Laboratory School.
• Senior
Liliana Thomas has started all 11 games at third base. She is hitting .286 and is one of two players with double-digit hits. Thomas has 10 hits, six runs scored two doubles a home run and seven RBI. At Cal Baptist, She drove in UH's first run with an opposite field double and then scored what proved to be the winning run in the 2-1 victory.
MARTINEZ LEADING UH'S OFFENSE, TABBED TO ALL-BIG WEST PRESEASON TEAM
• Last week, senior catcher
Izabella Martinez hit .571 (8-for-14) in the Spring Fling tournament. In the opener vs. WIU, she went for a career-best 4-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored. Overall, she leads UH with a .382 average with a team-high 13 hits. She has recorded a team-high three doubles with eight walks and a .500 on-base percentage.
• Martinez was one of 11 players voted to the preseason team. Last year, Martinez started all 46 games behind the plate and finished the season hitting .298 (39-for-131) with six doubles and 22 RBI. She drew a team-best 19 walks and was second on the team with nine multiple-hit games. She was ranked 12 in the NCAA DI throwing out 15 runners trying to steal. Martinez earned all-Big West honors both as a sophomore and junior.
UH PICKED TO FINISH FOURTH
The Rainbow Wahine were picked to finish fourth in the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll. UH received 52 total points to rank fourth in the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll. UH is right behind UC Santa Barbara who garnered 59 points for third place. Defending BW champions Cal State Fullerton received one first place vote and 63 total points for second place while Long Beach State had nine first place votes and 81 votes for the top spot.
COOLEN'S FINAL SEASON
Head coach
Bob Coolen enters his 34th and final season at the helm of the UH program. Thirty-six years ago, Coolen came to UH as an assistant coach to then head coach Rayla Allison. He is now the second longest tenured coach at UH behind sailing's Andy Johnson, sailing. Coolen's 1,172 wins is ranked No. 30 in the All-Time NCAA Winningest Coaches list (by victories) which includes all collegiate divisions past/present. He is ranked No. 20 in NCAA All-Time Division I winningest coaches by victories.
