Majam delivers for Wahine

"Coach Kelly" delivered on her promise.

In the days leading up to the University of Hawaii softball team’s opener of the Bank of Hawaii Invitational, Kelly Majam playfully told her students at Liholiho Elementary School that she’d hit a home run for them on Friday.

The Rainbow Wahine senior indeed put on a show for the cheering section packed into the bleachers on the first-base side, with a triple and a solo homer to help power UH to a 5-1 win over Western Kentucky.

"I usually don’t smile during my home run trot, but I was super excited about that one," said Majam, a student teacher at Liholiho. "I had promised that I would hit one, so I needed to come through.

"(Liholiho PE teacher) Tom Holden kept saying it to all the kids, ‘she promised, she’s going to hit really good for all of us.’ It was kind of a joke, but I’m glad I was able to do it."

Majam is teaching at Liholiho this semester while finishing up her degree in secondary education (health and PE), and the school designated Friday’s game to show its support for her.

She responded by igniting the UH offense with a triple into the right-field corner in the bottom of the first, and her fifth-inning homer to center field was her first at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium this season. Senior pitcher Kaia Parnaby (8-2) struck out nine and held off a late push from the Lady Toppers, and the No. 20/22 Rainbow Wahine improved to 10-4.

"I’m going to have to get someone to come down here and put on a night for (Majam) every night," UH coach Bob Coolen said.

"She made some great adjustments. She got suckered on two high pitches and then hits a home run in that one at-bat and that is just amazing."

Majam led off the first with the third triple of her career and her first since her freshman year in 2010. Kayla Wartner then looped a single into left to score Majam and later scored on a double steal to give UH a 2-0 lead.

Freshman Keiki Carlos gave UH a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the third with her second home run of the season, a two-run shot that carried over the left-field fence.

"She doesn’t get flustered," Coolen said. "When she balances and gets her foot down and stays in a good balanced stance, she can hit anything. You heard that one, she hit that ball solid."

Parnaby gave up a walk and an infield single to open the third inning but worked out of the jam to start a string of nine straight batters retired, six on strikeouts.

Her next bit of trouble came in the sixth when WKU loaded the bases with none out. Amanda Thomas broke the shutout with an RBI single to left. Katrina Metoyer then lined out to first baseman Leisha Li’ili’i to start a double play and Parnaby ended the inning with her eighth strikeout of the game.