Four runs and 14 zeroes added up to a rain-delayed doubleheader sweep for the University of Hawaii softball team on Sunday.

After steady rain Saturday afternoon forced a suspension of the middle game of their series with UC Riverside, the Rainbow Wahine won both ends of the doubleheader behind shutout performances by Brittany Hitchcock and Kanani Aina Cabrales.

Hitchcock held UCR to four hits and struck out five and Kristina Akiona’s two-run double in the fourth inning was the decisive blow in a 3-0 win in a game interrupted in the third inning on Saturday and completed Sunday.

Aina Cabrales followed with four strikeouts in seven more shutout innings and the Rainbow Wahine claimed the series win with a 1-0 victory in the finale to improve to 21-15 overall and 2-1 in the Big West.

"They’re completely different pitchers, so it’s nice to see both of them can put zeroes on the board like they did. They did an awesome job," said UH catcher Kayla Wartner, whose RBI double was the difference in the series finale.

With the end of a 26-game homestand, the Wahine continue Big West play at Cal State Fullerton (24-13, 2-1) in a series starting Friday.

UH pitching didn’t allow an earned run in the three-game series with UCR and held the Highlanders (29-9, 1-2), who entered the week hitting .310 as a team, to a collective .167 batting average.

"The pitchers realized if you pitch it’s gonna work, rather than just throwing," UH coach Bob Coolen said. "I just challenged (Aina Cabrales) the whole game about pitching and not just being a thrower. … That’s what we talk about all the time."

After UC Riverside won the conference opener 2-1 with two unearned runs on Friday, Hitchcock was off to a strong start on Saturday before rain halted play. When the game resumed on Sunday, she worked out of jams in the third and fourth innings to strand UCR runners on second and third.

The freshman right-hander didn’t issue a walk and went to a three-ball count just twice in her third shutout of the season.

"I was actually so bummed we didn’t finish the first game (Saturday) because Brittany was pitching lights out," Wartner said. "Today they made a little bit of an adjustment to her, but she didn’t let that faze her and she knew what she wanted to throw and I was just there calling the pitches and catching the ball."

The Wahine broke through in the bottom of the fourth when Akiona came up with two out and runners on second and third. She turned on a 2-2 pitch from UCR ace Chelsea Ponce and lined a double into the left-field corner to score Jordan Burton and Rachel Lack.

"She was going outside and every time I would move up in the box she would come inside and I was doubting myself and wasn’t swinging at it," Akiona said. "Coach Bob called timeout to talk to me; he was like, ‘believe in yourself, you can hit the inside.’ I just went up and I hacked and it worked out."

In the series finale, the Rainbow Wahine gave Aina Cabrales a lead in the third inning when Wartner drilled an opposite-field double to left to score Keiki Carlos from first with the game’s lone run.

"I actually got a hit-and-run (sign), so I was just trying to give it an offensive swing, as Coach Bob calls it, and just tried to hit the crap out of the ball," Wartner said.

Aina Cabrales gave up five hits, struck out four, walked one and stranded seven UCR baserunners. The Highlanders put the tying run on third in the sixth with the aid of a two-out error and a passed ball. But Aina Cabrales came back with a strikeout to end the threat.

"You could see on her face she was really determined to get that girl out. She wasn’t going to let anyone cross the plate," Wartner said.

Aina Cabrales in turn put her faith in Wartner’s pitch calling to keep the shutout intact.

"I trusted (Wartner) because she’s one of the smartest catchers I know," Aina Cabrales said. "I trusted my pitches and I trusted her calls."

Ponce (21-5) took the loss in both games. The loss in Sunday’s opener was her first since a 10-2 defeat against Arizona on Feb. 28. She had won 12 straight decisions since and UCR had a six-game winning streak snapped in Sunday’s opener.

At Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium

Chelsea Ponce, Marcilena Valenzuela (5) and Chelsey Holley. Brittany Hitchcock and Kayla Wartner. W–Hitchcock. L–Ponce.

Leading hitters–Hawaii: Keiki Carlos, 2-4, 2B; Leisha Li’ili’i, RBI; Rachel Lack, 2-2; Kristina Akiona, 2-3, 2B, 2 RBIs.

Chelsea Ponce and Chelsey Holley. Kanani Aina Cabrales and Kayla Wartner. W–Aina Cabrales. L–Ponce.
Leading hitters–UC Riverside: Jenna Curtan, 2-4. Hawaii: Wartner, 2B, RBI; Lindsey Willmon, 2-2.

Sunday
Cal State Fullerton 15, UC Santa Barbara 5, 5 innings
Cal State Northridge 7, Cal Poly 5
Long Beach State 8, UC Davis 0, 5 innings

BIG WEST STANDINGS

Sunday
Hawaii 3, UC Riverside 0
Hawaii 1, UC Riverside 0
CS Fullerton 15, UC Santa Barbara 5, 5 inn.
CSUN 7, Cal Poly 5
Long Beach State 8, UC Davis 0
Tuesday
Montana at UC Davis
San Diego at UC Santa Barbara (DH)