Senior days don’t get much better than this.

Full house. Ace throws a no-hitter. Veteran left fielder saves it with a great catch and homers in her final at-bat. And rival Fresno State goes home swept, Hawaii taking the doubleheader and the three-game series.

This was very likely the final game for Stephanie Ricketts and Alex Aguirre and the rest of the seniors at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium — or, as I’ll call it anytime anyone let’s me get away with it from here on in, Bob Coolen Stadium. It’s going to end up being officially named that someday anyway.

It’s possible Hawaii, now 40-5 and ranked 14th, could host an NCAA regional. But it’s not likely, even if the Wahine finish the season winning the WAC regular-season and tournament championships, ranked in the top 16 and thus deserving of it.

Maybe someday UH will be recognized as a perennial power in women’s softball worthy of national respect from all corners, a respect that is sometimes only begrudgingly doled out to the Rainbow Wahine.

A little more regard from within the state would be nice, too; we’re told the governor said he’d come to watch twice but no-showed both times (yes, we know, governors are busy people). More importantly, several field-light bulbs aren’t scheduled to be replaced for at least another year.

Another trip to the College World Series would help the national perception, and this team looks very capable of that. This wasn’t the best softball team Fresno State has fielded, but it wasn’t terrible and the Bulldogs are always up for Hawaii.

And although the scores weren’t overwhelming Saturday, just 1-0 and 2-0, the Wahine owned the visitors — especially after Friday’s 11-3 mercy-rule win for UH.

Watching freshman catcher Kayla Wartner homer to win the first game and then again in the second to put Hawaii ahead gave me the idea that this program now merely reloads annually rather than rebuilds.

But despite the gaudy record, the ranking and a lineup filled with veteran and youthful talent, Coolen is far from describing the program as one that has arrived.

"To me, we go up and down like a roller coaster," he says. "We got to the College World Series two years ago, but last year we didn’t do anything."

This year? A heckuva thrill ride, a winning percentage closing in on .900 includes a win against a team that was ranked No. 1. It’s been a great season and there’s more to come. But the standards are high now. Coolen hopes Saturday was just a sample of things to come.

"We need that momentum and we had to prove that we weren’t just a fluke. We can’t falter now because it means a lot to go into the WAC tournament as regular-season champions."

This team compares favorably with 2010. It is balanced, as the improved pitching of Ricketts and Kaia Parnaby has caught up to the offense.

So many times we have seen UH teams in various sports climb to unprecedented heights — only to suffer altitude sickness and plummet, never to return … or at least not for a very long time.

Wahine softball took a step back in 2011. But the pitchers and many of the key position players who got them to the World Series the season prior are still on the team now. They’ve performed like they’re dead serious about a return visit this year.

Anyone doubting that just had to see them play Saturday.

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Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783.