Kelly Majam and her youngster sister, Mari, shared in the excitement when their teams appeared in the NCAA softball tournament bracket on Sunday.
Since then, they’ve been sharing insights on the respective opponents they’ll face on Friday.
Majam, the University of Hawaii’s junior center fielder, sent over what she recalls of facing Texas to help Mari prepare for Northwestern’s matchup with the Longhorns in the Austin regional. Mari reciprocated with her impressions of Notre Dame, UH’s opening-round opponent in the Tucson, Ariz., regional.
"Since we played Texas I gave her a scouting report, and she played Notre Dame so she gave me a scouting report," Kelly Majam said. "We’re trading notes on the pitchers, trying to help each other out."
Wahine chillin’ in the Arizona heat
University of Hawaii outfielder Alex Aguirre will provide a daily diary of the Wahine softball team at the NCAA tournament in Tucson, Ariz.
Tuesday » As we embarked on the 13th day of our never-ending road trip, we knew it would be a long day. We started out with a lifting session at the New Mexico State campus and it was really invigorating to get back into a real weight room!
Then we went back to the hotel to pack up and prepare for the four and a half hour drive to our next destination. Somewhere between Arizona and New Mexico we discovered a whole lot of … NOTHING so we resorted to movies and snacks provided by Coach Dickie (Titcomb) to keep us occupied.
When we arrived in Tucson we were greeted by a blistering, 100-degree afternoon and many girls took the opportunity to jump into the pool to cool down.
Wednesday » Today went smoothly because the whole morning was planned with breakfast and practice. We were happy to finally see the facilities at the University of Arizona as they were extremely impressive and professional. Practicing made us even more eager to play this weekend.
Overall, I think the entire team is anticipating the start of this regional. We want redemption after the conclusion of the WAC tournament.
Thanks for all the support back home, please keep following and we will do our best to make you proud!
Alex Aguirre #14
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Equipped with those tips, Kelly Majam will try to continue her late-season surge at the plate when the Rainbow Wahine (44-7) open the regional against the Fighting Irish (38-14) on Friday at Arizona’s Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium.
A midseason slump dropped Majam’s batting average to .195 early in the Western Athletic Conference schedule. A 3-for-3 performance against San Jose State on March 24 sparked an upward trend that led to her hitting a team-high .383 in WAC play.
The mileage UH has covered on its season-ending road trip hasn’t slowed her pace. Majam is 12-for-20 with nine runs scored and seven driven in over the last six games, raising her overall batting average 47 points to .301 entering the regionals.
After studying footage of her swing with help from the UH coaches and her father, Ros, Majam made a slight adjustment to speed up her hands, which contributed to her making more consistent contact. But so did keeping the minutiae of hitting out of mind once she stepped to the plate.
"I get really caught up in the technical things … when I just need to simplify it," she said. "Coach Bob (Coolen) says that all the time, that I need to stop thinking and just simplify my mind set. That helped, just to clear my head at the plate."
Along with her sister’s report, Majam has some first-hand experience hitting against Notre Dame ace Laura Winter from their days as prep standouts in the San Diego area, as do UH sophomore Sharla Kliebenstein and freshman Kayla Wartner.
While Coolen generally prefers the Wahine hitters to keep from obsessing over the opponent, Majam likes having some familiarity with the pitcher.
"Since I’m the leadoff batter I like to know a little bit about them, I like to watch them as they warm up just to see the speed and see what pitch they like to throw," Majam said.
"I’m the guinea pig, so I have to go in the box with some knowledge of what’s going on. So I’m a little bit different than Coach Bob in that area, but he’s right, we shouldn’t be focusing on the other team, just focusing on ourselves and our own game."
Majam’s game has centered on creating scoring opportunities whether through power as UH’s career record holder for home runs (52) or patience as the all-time leader in walks (116). She leads the WAC with 54 runs scored so far and her 1.06 runs per game places her 14th nationally.
As Majam focuses on helping the Wahine advance through the bracket this weekend, her family’s attention will be split between Tucson and Austin. Her father and older sister will pass by on the drive from Southern California to Texas. Her mother, youngest sister and boyfriend will stick around in Arizona.
While Kelly was confident in UH’s selection when the bracket was revealed on Sunday, Northwestern wasn’t as secure at 27-27. But both sisters now find themselves in equal situations starting Friday.
"It doesn’t matter your record and it doesn’t matter how well you did in the regular season," Majam said, "it all depends on now."
