Hawaii’s lack of pitching depth last season kept a bat out of Heather Morales’ hands early in her freshman year.

If her fall performance is any indication, she’ll be tough to keep out of the lineup in the spring.

In four exhibition games, Morales hit .500 (6-for-12) with four home runs and a double and drove in eight runs. She punctuated the fall with a towering home run to ignite the Rainbow Wahine offense in an 11-1 win in the alumnae game last Saturday. Morales also ended the game by throwing an inning of shutout relief.

With UH down to two pitchers most of last season, Morales’ plate appearances were limited early on. She became a regular part of the order during the Big West schedule and hit .282 in conference play.

The Wahine enter 2015 with greater depth on staff, allowing Morales and fellow sophomore pitcher Kanani Aina Cabrales to contribute offensively as well as in the circle.