Oregon coach Mike White arrived at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium on Friday leery of Hawaii’s potential at the plate.

UH’s power propelled the Rainbow Wahine to an early lead against the second-ranked Ducks. But Oregon’s offense broke open a close game in the sixth inning and the Ducks finished off a 12-4 win in six innings in the Pepsi Rainbow Wahine Classic.

UH jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Ulu Matagiese’s second-inning home run before Oregon answered with four runs in the third. The Ducks were protecting a 5-4 lead going into the sixth when they broke loose for seven runs to snuff UH’s comeback hopes.

"Hawaii’s always given us tough matchups. Last year we played them early in the season and we were up on them and they came back," White said, referencing UH’s 6-5 win in Las Vegas. "They swing the bats, that’s what they do, that’s what Hawaii’s known for and they didn’t disappoint today."

Kailee Cuico drove in five runs and gave Oregon its first lead with a two-run homer in the third. Reliever Jasmine Smithson-Willett threw 21/3 innings of shutout relief to pick up the win.

UH freshman Heather Morales (6-6), who kept the Wahine within reach going into the sixth before Oregon pulled away, took the loss.

Oregon (22-2) closed the round-robin portion of the tournament at 4-0 and will be the top seed in Saturday’s bracket play. The Ducks entered the week ranked second in the USA Today/NFCA poll and fourth in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25. The Ducks survived a 1-0 duel with James Madison prior to facing UH, scoring the winning run on a stolen base and a  throwing error in the bottom of the seventh.

UH (12-13) faced Valparaiso later Friday for the chance to play Oregon at 11 a.m. Saturday.

The Wahine opened the bottom of the second with back-to-back singles and later went ahead on Matagiese’s first home run of her career, a three-run shot to center with two out.

"We were more aggressive," UH coach Bob Coolen said after UH scored one run in Thursday’s doubleheader against James Madison and BYU.

Oregon answered with four runs in the top of the third, all coming with two out. After two bunt singles, Morales got the next two outs and was one strike away from escaping the inning when Alexa Peterson lined a two-run single to center. Cuico was also behind in the count before hitting a two-run homer to left.

Coolen noted when Morales got ahead in the count her pitches were "moving side to side. You can’t throw a team like Oregon side to side, you have to go up and down. She was successful with that, so it was promising."

Sharla Kliebenstein led off the bottom of the fourth with a double down the left-field line and scored the tying run on Sarina Jaramillo’s single.

Oregon reclaimed the lead in the fifth on Cuico’s sacrifice fly and she added a two-run single off the top of the fence in right field as part of the Ducks’ sixth inning outburst. Kamehameha graduate Karine Shaver also delivered an RBI single in the sixth and went 2-for-3 in the game.

Karissa Hovinga, Jasmine Smithson-Willett (4) and Alexa Peterson. Heather Morales, Keiki Carlos (6), Morales (6) and Sharla Kliebenstein. W–Smithson-Willett. L–Morales.

Leading hitters–Oregon: Courtney Ceo, 2-5; Alyssa Gillespie, 2-4, HR, 3 RBIs; Janie Takeda, 3-4; Peterson, 2 RBIs; Kailee Cuico, 2-3, HR, 5 RBIs; Karine Shaver, 2-3, RBI; Jamie Rae Sullivan, RBI. Hawaii: Lindsey Willmon, 2-3; Leisha Li’ili’i, 2-3, 2B; Sharla Kliebenstein, 2B; Ulu Matagiese, HR, 3 RBIs; Sarina Jaramillo, RBI.

Friday
Valparaiso 6, BYU 4
Oregon 1, James Madison 0

Saturday
Oregon vs. No. 4/5 winner, 11 a.m.
James Madison vs. BYU, 1 p.m.
Championship, 3 p.m.