A renowned fast-pitch softball player in his day, Tony Sellitto is better known locally for his achievements as a high school and college basketball coach.

So when he was asked to tutor a young Keiki Carlos as a pitcher, he recognized a few fundamental traits that would set the foundation for her future success.

“She always had a lot of self determination,” Sellitto recalled. “Being an ex-coach in basketball, I think that’s probably the most motivating factor any athlete can have.

“You have this drive to be really, really good and she has that. She wanted to be the best pitcher, she wanted to be the best hitter and she’s been successful.”

From those early lessons with Sellitto with her father, Stephen, catching for her at Moiliili Field on Sunday afternoons, Carlos developed into the state’s premier high school pitcher at Mid-Pacific Institute. A short move down University Avenue came with a transition to the outfield and Carlos has since established herself a mainstay in right field and in the middle of the batting order for the University of Hawaii softball team.

With 161 starts in her UH career, Carlos enters today’s season opener against St. Mary’s as the most-seasoned member of a Rainbow Wahine lineup expected to start three freshmen.

“Having her as a four-year starter, that’s huge,” UH coach Bob Coolen said. “She just needs to spread her leadership qualities to everyone.”

Following an All-State career at MPI, Carlos made her UH debut on opening night of the 2013 season when she pitched four innings and notched her first collegiate hit in a 7-2 win over University of Alabama at Birmingham.

She maintained a consistent pace at the plate since and heads into her senior season as a career .304 hitter while taking hold of right field for the Wahine.

After pitching seemingly “every single game of my life,” Carlos said it was in her sophomore year at UH when she began to feel at home in right field with the guidance of Wahine assistant coach Kaulana Gould, a former all-conference outfielder for UH.

Although she spent much of her youth throwing underhand, the repetitive motion developed her arm strength and she’s emerged as a defensive weapon in right with 12 outfield assists last season.

“In high school it was always pitching,” Carlos said of her softball priorities. “But being able to hit my way into the lineup as a freshman was awesome as well. Just the fact that I’ve been able to be in the lineup all four years has been a blessing and I just have to keep working on it and hopefully end this season off with a bang.”

The end will come soon enough, but for now Carlos is focused on helping the Wahine to a strong start to the season in the three-day Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. After opening against St. Mary’s today in a game scheduled for 6 p.m., the Wahine will face Ole Miss and University of Missouri-Kansas City in a Friday doubleheader. The tournament closes with bracket play on Saturday.

Carlos is slated to hit third in the order with two freshmen — shortstop Sarah Muzik and third baseman Nicole Lopez — at the top of the lineup. Another freshman, Jennifer Iseri, is expected to start in left field and hit ninth.

A freshman starter four years ago, Carlos can relate to any nerves the newcomers might experience, but also noted the maturity of the freshman class.

“(The freshmen) bring a certain swag with them when they play,” Carlos said, “so we don’t really have to work too much with them, just basics 101 of Coach Bob. What the do’s and don’t’s are. They’re pretty confident and that makes us really confident in ourselves as a whole.”