Hawaii works out new talent in wins

Although the weekend ended with a rainout, Hawaii softball coach Bob Coolen got what he needed out of the Kama‘aina Classic.

Before the fall tournament’s finale between UH and BYU-Hawaii was called off, the three games the Rainbow Wahine played over the past two days —plus five previous intrasquad scrimmages — gave Coolen a pretty good read on the team heading toward the spring.

"We were able to establish some things and I think the pecking order worked itself out," Coolen said.

The Rainbow Wahine closed the fall with a 10-1 win over Chaminade in Saturday’s first game as the freshman class continued to assert itself in the competition for starting roles.

"That’s what I expected out of that group," Coolen said. "We had such a big group coming in I knew there would be a potential four starters. …Basically that’s exactly how it played itself out."

Freshman pitchers Heather Morales and Brittany Hitchcock allowed four hits in a combined 16 innings this weekend and will be counted on to carry the load when the regular season opens in February.

Morales struck out 11 over six innings in a 4-2 win over BYUH in Friday’s late game and held Chaminade to two hits over five shutout innings on Saturday. She also contributed to UH’s offense by going 5-for-7 with two home runs.

"It was different, but the girls make you feel like you’ve played with them for a while," Morales said. "I was able to go out there knowing they have my back."

Outfielder Lindsey Willmon (4-for-5, three doubles) and shortstop Sarina Jaramillo (three RBIs) also enjoyed productive debuts at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium against the Division II Silverswords and Seasiders.

"They get it," junior Leisha Li‘ili‘i said of the freshmen. "They clicked with the team easily."

Li‘ili‘i didn’t see many pitches to hit in the tournament, but still went 5-for-5 and drove in three runs.

Before the rain washed out Saturday’s finale, BYUH rallied for six runs in the top of the seventh inning in a 7-6 win over the Silverswords.