A key victory for the University of Hawaii softball team Friday night was accompanied by concern for pitching ace Kaia Parnaby.

The Rainbow Wahine opened a pivotal Big West series with Long Beach State with a 7-4 win, but Parnaby’s status for the rest of the weekend is uncertain after she left the game in the fourth inning.

With two out in the inning, Parnaby — the nation’s leader in victories — was hit in the face by a batted ball. She walked off the field after being attended to by trainer Eric Okasaki, and freshman Loie Kesterson threw the remaining 31/3 innings to earn the win.

Hawaii coach Bob Coolen said he didn’t know the extent of Parnaby’s injury.

"Kaia works hard for our team, we all know that," senior shortstop Jessica Iwata said. "She throws almost every game and she takes it upon herself to do the best she can for our team. So when we go up there we kind of hit for her. We want to do well for her.

"It’s hard to see your teammate go down, but she’s a tough cookie. I think we’ll be seeing her back real soon."

UH led 3-1 when Darian Tautalafua’s hard grounder bounced up, glanced off Parnaby’s glove and struck her in the nose, knocking her to the ground.

Kesterson closed out the inning and the Wahine extended the advantage with a four-run outburst in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by Iwata’s two-run home run to left field, as No. 14/20 UH improved to 38-8 overall and 15-1 in Big West play.

"I think that was a tribute to the seniors on the field who brought the whole team together and Kelly (Majam) really charging the players not to let up," Coolen said.

The Wahine stretched their lead to 41/2 games over LBSU (30-20,

12-7), which fell to third in the Big West standings behind idle Pacific.

Majam ignited the UH offense with a leadoff triple down the right-field line in the bottom of the first and scored the first of her three runs on an LBSU error with two out. The senior center fielder also doubled and scored in the third and played a role in keeping the Wahine focused after Parnaby was hit, bringing the defense together as Kesterson finished her warm-up pitches.

"I think it was important for her to know we were OK and we had her back," Majam said. "As a freshman I know she was nervous to go in at a big emotional time in the game. I think that’s just my role, to make sure we were all on the same page and to get back on the same track."

The UH defense backed up Kesterson by turning double plays in each of the last three innings. She gave up a two-run homer to Ashley Holmes with two out in the seventh, then ended the game with a groundout to earn her second win of the season.

Coolen said he’d planned to give Kesterson a start in today’s doubleheader.

"Now I know what I need to do and need to work on that to get ready for tomorrow," Kesterson said.