Li’ili’i keeps No. 10 mojo going for Rainbow Wahine

The power of 10 lives on in the University of Hawaii softball program.

Stephanie Ricketts put together the most prolific pitching career in Rainbow Wahine history while wearing No. 10 for four seasons. So far, UH first baseman Leisha Li’ili’i has carried on the number’s legacy since switching jerseys prior to the Pepsi Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament.

She’s been on a tear over the tournament’s first three days and drove in six runs in UH’s doubleheader sweep of Portland State and East Carolina on Saturday.

"I really think it’s the jersey. … I idolize Steph so much I wanted to rep her number," Li’ili’i said before the team hustled over to the Stan Sheriff Center to catch the end of Ricketts’ senior night game with the Wahine basketball team.

Li’ili’i went 2-for-3 with a two-run single in No. 21/24 UH’s 8-3 win over Portland State. She then drove in four more runs, two coming on a line-drive home run, as the Wahine completed the sweep with an 8-0 victory over East Carolina.

Li’ili’i had been wearing No. 27 until Thursday’s exhibition doubleheader with Tokyo Women’s College of Physical Education. She went 2-for-3 with a grand slam in those games, which don’t count in the official statistics. Li’ili’i then went 2-for-2 with a three-run homer in Friday’s 7-0 win over Portland State.

She helped ignite the UH offense early in Saturday’s rematch with the Vikings with a two-run single in the second inning that gave UH a 3-0 lead. The Wahine then pulled away in the fifth on Kayla Wartner’s bases-loaded triple.

Li’ili’i contributed a two-run single in the first inning against ECU and capped the night with a two-run line-drive home run that barely cleared the fence in right center. Her shot was UH’s third homer of the fifth inning, following back-to-back blasts by Kelly Majam and Wartner.

"Honestly I got jammed a little," Li’ili’i said. "I couldn’t have hit it any harder though. I thought it was going to hit the sign and I heard everyone cheering. I looked back and didn’t see the ball so I just kept running."

"I have not seen a ball leave the yard here on a line shot that barely elevated," said coach Bob Coolen, now in his 22nd year at UH. "It just kept on a line."

UH senior Kaia Parnaby earned complete-game wins in both ends of the doubleheader after a surprise start against Portland State.

Parnaby (14-2) struck out seven and walked none in her second win over Portland State. She finished with eight strikeouts and a walk while holding East Carolina to one hit in the shutout shortened to six innings by the mercy rule. Mililani graduate Kristi Oshiro accounted for East Carolina’s lone hit with a double in the fourth inning and Parnaby faced just two batters over the minimum.

Freshman Loie Kesterson was scheduled to start in Saturday’s opener but was held out due to a violation of team rules. Kesterson is expected to start today’s game against Portland State at 2 p.m. UH then faces East Carolina at 4 to close the tournament.