By her standards, Kaia Parnaby had a relatively short appearance in the circle on Saturday. But it was long enough for the left-hander to add another impressive entry to her list of accomplishments this season.
With three strikeouts in the University of Hawaii softball team’s 9-3 win over Pacific in Stockton, Calif., Parnaby broke the school and Big West Conference single-season records set by former Rainbow Wahine standout Brooke Wilkins in 1994.
Parnaby threw four innings in UH’s final game of the regular season and came out of the game with 325 strikeouts, passing Wilkins’ mark with two strikeouts in the second inning.
"I thought I was really close, and I was told after the game that I did it," Parnaby said. "It was a shock and it was a great honor because of whose record it was and how long-standing it was."
Parnaby said she received a congratulatory message from Wilkins, one of her mentors in Australia, after the game. She broke Wilkins’ single-game record earlier this season and continued to add to her Big West-record win total by improving to 37-5 in her senior season.
Parnaby’s record-setting day in the circle was complemented by freshman Alyssa Villalpando’s breakout performance at the plate. Villalpando hit three-run home runs in the fifth and sixth innings to power the Rainbow Wahine to a commanding lead.
Fellow freshman Loie Kesterson pitched the final three innings in relief of Parnaby, and No. 20/24-ranked UH completed the series sweep of Pacific (28-28, 12-12).
UH, which clinched the Big West championship outright on Friday, closed the regular season at 43-11 overall and 20-4 in league play.
The Wahine will find out where they’re headed next when the NCAA tournament bracket is released today. The tournament selection show is scheduled to air on ESPNU at 4 p.m.
"We’ll celebrate until (today), when we find out where we’re going and then we’ll hone in on our regional next weekend," Parnaby said.
"We wanted to finish strong, we wanted the sweep. …We’ll go into regionals with a stronger attitude and more confidence in ourselves because it was a whole team effort today. We had a lot of people coming in off the bench and hitting well."
None more so than Villalpando, who entered the game with one home run and four RBIs.
The UH offense gave Parnaby a 3-0 lead through four innings and broke away when Villalpando came up with Jazmine Zamora and Kaile Nakao on base in the fifth inning and homered to left center. She came up in the same situation in the sixth and delivered another blast to left.
Zamora, UH’s second baseman, went 2-for-4 and won the team’s batting title at .359.
Roosevelt graduate Kamalei Pitoy went 2-for-2 and drove in a run for UOP.
At Stockton, Calif.
Hawaii |
200 |
133 |
0 |
— |
9 |
16 |
1 |
Pacific |
000 |
011 |
1 |
— |
3 |
11 |
1 |
Kaia Parnaby, Loie Kesterson (5) and Kayla Wartner, Sharla Kliebenstein (5). Nikki Armagost, Tori Shepard (5) and Amy Moore. W—Parnaby. L—Armagost.
Leading hitters—Hawaii: Kelly Majam, 2-5, 2B; Wartner, RBI; Keiki Carlos, 2-5; Leisha Li’ili’i, 2-3, RBI; Jazmine Zamora, 2-4, 2B; Alyssa Villalpando, 3-4, 2 HR, 6 RBIs. Pacific: Armagost, 3-4, 2B, RBI; Moore, 2-4; Kamalei Pitoy, 2-2, RBI; Gabby Goyette, RBI.