Hawaii Softball Team Open With Notre Dame Today

UH pitcher Stephanie Ricketts is Hawai'i's ace. Photo by UH Athletics.

By Rodney S. Yap

The Western Athletic Conference regular season champion University of Hawai`i softball team (44-7, 17-3 WAC) will face Notre Dame (38-14) today in the opening game of the NCAA Tucson Regional.

The two teams will square off at 11:30 a.m. in the Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium on the University of Arizona campus. The 13th-ranked Rainbow Wahine are the second seed in the regional, while the Fighting Irish are seeded third. The regional host team, 13th-seeded Arizona (35-17), will play North Dakota State (37-20) at 2 p.m. All the games in the Tucson Regional will be televised live on ESPNU and ESPN3.

The Rainbow Wahine are hitting a combined .296 on offense, with five players hitting above the .300-mark and UH has now outscored its opponents 322-to-79 this season. Junior shortstop Jessica Iwata continues to lead UH with a .403 batting average, 58 hits, 14 home runs, 57 RBI, a .757 slugging percentage and a .503 on-base percentage. Senior third baseman is second on the squad, hitting a solid .340 (52-for-153) with 35 runs scored and 33 RBI. Freshman designated player is hitting .326 (45-for-138) with seven doubles and nine home runs and is second on the team with 37 RBI and senior first baseman Makani Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu has a .308 batting average heading into the post-season. She has five doubles, eight homers and 34 RBI. Junior Kelly Majam has raised her average to .301 (44-for-146) with team-highs in runs scored (54) and walks (38). She is second on the team with 23 homers and a .616 slugging percentage.

Although UH’s pitching staff faltered a little in the WAC tournament, the dynamic duo of senior Stephanie Ricketts and junior Kaia Parnaby continue to be one of the best tandems in the NCAA, ranked No. 5 with a combined 1.32 ERA. Individually, Ricketts is ranked No. 11 in the NCAA with a 1.24 ERA and has posted a 28-4 overall record this season. The three-time WAC Pitcher of the Year has fired 30 complete games this season in 31 starts and has 10 shutouts this year. In 214.1 innings of work, Ricketts has walked 89 with 221 strike outs while holding opponents to a .181 batting average. Parnaby (16-3) has a 1.45 ERA in 120.2 innings pitched and has fired nine shut outs in 2012. She has 25 walks to 123 strike outs while keeping opponents at bay with a .176 batting average.

This marks the 10th NCAA appearance for Hawai`i—all under the guidance of head coach Bob Coolen who enters the tournament just two wins shy of hitting the 800-win mark at Hawai`i. Overall his record is 870-546-1.

All-Region Honors for Ricketts and Majam

Ricketts and Majam were named to the NFCA All-West Region team on Thursday.

Ricketts made the all-region first team and became the second UH player to earn an all-region selection each of her four seasons. She was named to the first team as a freshman in 2009 and was a second-team pick the past two years. Dana Degen also made the all-region team from 1997 to 2000.

Majam added all-region second-team honors to the first-team selection she earned as a freshman in 2010.

Mississippi State catcher Ka‘ili Smith, a Kapolei graduate, made the All-South Region first team.

The teams were picked by NFCA coaches in each region and those selected are eligible for the NFCA Division I All-America teams.
NCAA Tucson Regional
(Hillenbrand Stadium, Tucson, Ariz.)
All times local to site

Friday, May 18
Game 1–Hawai’i vs. Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m.
Game 2–13th-seed Arizona vs. North Dakota State, 5 p.m.

Saturday, May 19
Game 3–Winner G1 vs. Winner G2, 3 p.m.
Game 4–Loser G1 vs. Loser G2, 5:30 p.m.
Game 5–Winner G4 vs. Loser G3, 8 p.m.

Sunday, May 20
Game 6–Winner G3 vs. Winner G5, 2:30 p.m.
*Game 7–Loser G6 vs. Winner G6, 5 p.m. *If needed