The return of Sarina Jaramillo’s bat to the order and glove in the infield helped fortify Hawaii’s lineup.

But those weren’t the only elements missing when the Rainbow Wahine shortstop sat out the first two games of conference play.

"It’s great to have her back and laughing. Her laugh is contagious," UH softball coach Bob Coolen said. "Sarina is one of those kids who keeps it loose. So it’s great to have her back and in full focus."

A concussion kept Jaramillo out of the first two games of UH’s Big West series against UC Riverside. She was cleared in time for the series finale and was back to full speed last week at Cal State Fullerton. She hit .400 in the series, drove in two runs and helped ignite an eighth-inning rally that enabled the Wahine to pull out the series-clinching victory in the finale.

Defensively, "she made some great plays out at shortstop," Coolen said, "kept us in games and got us out of innings."

UH’s second series win of the Big West schedule gave the Rainbow Wahine (23-16, 4-2) sole possession of second place with Long Beach State (16-21, 3-3) coming in for a three-game series at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

UH enters the week two games behind early leader CSUN (6-0) with Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside another game back.

UH vaulted from No. 82 in the NCAA RPI when Big West play started to No. 54 this week, one spot behind CSUN. Even so, the Wahine are devoting their focus on the games coming up rather than the early shape of the conference race.

"We just take it game by game, inning by inning," Jaramillo said. "We’re not trying to look ahead right now, we’re trying to be within ourselves as a team and play together and just win."

Jaramillo, a sophomore from Covina, Calif., moved into the team lead with a .340 batting average coming out of last week’s series and brings a presence to the middle of the infield that helps keep her teammates relaxed.

"I just try to keep it loose and playing in front of my family and everyone’s families last week I feel was very helpful," she said. "Playing loose and playing your game is all you need."

The Wahine endured a tense series last week and could have another ahead against a Long Beach State team that has won the past five meetings with UH. The 49ers, the defending conference champions, swept the Wahine last year in Long Beach and lead the all-time series 54-26.

LBSU owns a highly ranked strength of schedule and enters the series led by shortstop Shayna Kimbrough (.381) — the reigning Big West player of the year — and pitcher Christina Clermont (9-6, 2.24 ERA). Clermont is 3-0 in Big West play with a 0.78 ERA.