Parnaby, Wahine shut out alumni

Hawaii softball coach Bob Coolen left his starters in through the fifth inning.

That’s how serious the Rainbow Wahine took their annual alumnae game.

Kaia Parnaby struck out 14 in five innings and Kayla Wartner and Alyssa Villalpando homered to lead Hawaii to a 9-0 win over the alumnae on Friday night at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

Wartner had four RBIs and Villalpando hit a two-run homer during a six-run sixth inning that gave UH enough of a lead to allow Coolen to feel safe putting in his substitutes.

"We went with our starters for a while because if (the alumnae) got that timely hit at any time they had baserunners on, it would have been a different ballgame," Coolen said. "We have a lot of good talent that has graduated in recent years and they really wanted to come out and get that first (win)."

The alumnae threw former All-American Kate Robinson, who plays professionally in Italy, against a UH team that went 44-9 and hit .296 collectively a year ago. Wartner, a sophomore who led the team with 10 doubles and hit six homers as a freshman, greeted Robinson with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first.

After Kelly Majam drew a walk, Wartner drove a 2-0 offering from Robinson deep over the left-field fence to give the Rainbow Wahine the early lead.

Majam tripled with one out in the third and Wartner drove her in with a sacrifice fly for the only other run allowed by Robinson, who worked five innings, allowing three hits with one strikeout.

"We only got three hits and three runs off of Kate and I was trying to impress upon our players she’s an All-American, she’s a professional, and that’s what we’re going to see night in and night out," Coolen said. "Teams aren’t going to give us their No. 2 and No. 3 pitchers."

Parnaby looked ready to step in and take the No. 1 starter spot with five hitless innings for UH.

She recorded the first seven outs by strikeout and had four in her fifth and final inning after Robinson reached base on a wild pitch.

Freshman Keiki Carlos, a Mid-Pacific graduate and one of only four high school players ever to be named the Gatorade state player of the year twice, worked the final two innings, allowing an infield single to Robinson in the seventh for the alumnae’s only hit.

Coolen expects Carlos to be the team’s No. 2 starter come the regular season in February.

"She’s a gamer and I like that and she’ll hit when she pitches because she’s a good hitter," Coolen said. "With her being the No. 2 and I only have Kaia, it might be suspect for me to put her in the field and get her injured … so we’re going to be careful with what we do"

Kaile Nakao added a two-run double as the Wahine scored six runs off Makani Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu in the fifth. Melissa Gonzalez finished the game with a scoreless sixth inning for the alumnae.