Hitting has always been the fun part of softball for Keiki Carlos.

The University of Hawaii sophomore also rediscovered her joy for pitching this spring.

Carlos earned All-State acclaim, primarily for her pitching at Mid-Pacific, but struggled in the circle early in her freshman year while putting together an outstanding season at the plate for the Rainbow Wahine.

She’d shut down the pitching aspect in the offseason, planning to focus solely on hitting and playing right field this year. She was drawn back into the rotation this spring and the time she spent out of the circle refreshed her outlook.

"It’s just a lot more fun for me," Carlos said. "I don’t know if its just because freshman year I was so tense. Being a sophomore I’m a lot more composed and have a little bit more confidence in myself, so I’m having a lot more fun in the circle now.

"Now that I know what kind of competition I’m facing and I’ve faced it before, I’m not doubting myself as much as I did my freshman year."

Carlos and fellow sophomore Loie Kesterson will form UH’s starting rotation for the Pepsi Rainbow Wahine Classic, which opens Wednesday, with freshman Heather Morales available in relief.

Kesterson (5-3, 5.61) is scheduled to pitch UH’s opener against Valparaiso (4-14), set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, with Carlos set to throw against either BYU or James Madison on Thursday. UH faces No. 2 Oregon on Friday before the tournament enters bracket play.

With so much focus on her pitching growing up, Carlos always viewed hitting as "my relaxing part of the game." Her continued sense of ease with the bat is reflected in a team-best .394 batting average after going 8-for-16 in the Jack in the Box Spring Fling last week. Carlos, who hit .320 as a freshman, also leads the team with six doubles and has driven in 11 runs.

UH coach Bob Coolen said he could see the doubt on Carlos’ face as she pitched last year. Now, he said, "It’s leveled out a little bit. She’s more focused and she’s like, I get it now.’

"All she needs to do is put the ball in play. We can’t defend walks. And we as a team have to keep our pitchers out of jams."

Coolen gave the Rainbow Wahine a day off on Monday following a 6-0 loss Sunday to James Madison to catch their breath heading into a challenging four-day tournament to close their homestand.

All five teams in the Rainbow Wahine Classic reached the NCAA tournament last year, with Oregon (18-2) coming to town ranked second in the USA Today/NFCA poll released on Tuesday and fourth in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25. Led by pitcher Cheridan Hawkins (10-2, 1.00 ERA), the Ducks are riding a 15-game winning streak and have outscored their opponents 125-34 this season.

When UH meets Oregon on Friday, the Rainbow Wahine will have faced the top three teams in the current NFCA poll, having already played No. 1 Florida and No. 3 UCLA earlier this season.

"We have a stack of good teams coming now, so it’s good for us to see that type of competition and see how we do against them," Carlos said.

James Madison (14-8) stayed in town coming off a 4-0 run through the Jack in the Box Spring Fling, closing with a 6-0 win over UH on Sunday.

Campbell graduate Katie Manuma had twice been named West Coast Conference Player of the Week for BYU (9-13) and hit two of her three home runs this season in a win over then-No. 2 Tennessee.

Valparaiso entered the year as the preseason favorite in the Horizon League.