The bingo promotion in the stands produced more drama than the mismatches on the field. The University of Hawaii softball team hit twice as many home runs in its first inning Saturday as the baseball team has in 27 games. When its doubleheader sweep of UC Riverside at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium was mercifully over, UH had clubbed nine out of the park.

Shades of 2010 and the team that set a national record for roundtrippers on the way to the College World Series. Hawaii is 31-7, has won 11 in a row and is ranked 16th in the nation.

Hold up, you say — those 12-2 and 8-1 wins Saturday came against UC Riverside, which is 0-9 in the Big West and 15-24 overall.

That’s true, and coach Bob Coolen knows things get tougher soon.

"The way that the conference is shaping up we’re going to hit a major part of our competition," Coolen said, in anticipation of road series at Cal State Fullerton and Cal Poly. "I’d rather have seen one of the top teams early to see where we are. What we’ve done is great. To go 9-0 to start the Big West is nothing to shake a stick at. … But now we hit a competitive part of our conference."

Exactly how challenging? Fullerton is 3-5 in conference and 16-21 overall, Poly the same overall and 5-3 in the league. UH has built its perch against Big West teams that are 44-64 overall. Hawaii plays the three teams with winning marks — Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara and Pacific — at the end of the season.

Sometimes you can read something from blowouts. In this case, Jessica Iwata’s 5-for-7 with two home runs is noteworthy. The cleanup batter and shortstop had hit just two homers this season before Saturday as she battles a painful right shoulder.

"Some days its more sore than others," said Iwata, who belted her 50th and 51st career homers Saturday. "Most of the time it’s pretty sore. It’s bothered me all season and I just learned to just take the pain already. A lot of it’s a mind game. I got a little more confidence in this series."

Iwata and center fielder Kelly Majam — who led off both games Saturday with home runs — were freshmen on the 2010 team and led it to Oklahoma City. So was pitcher Kaia Parnaby, an understudy to Stephanie Ricketts her first three seasons but now the indispensable workhorse. Parnaby has 28 of UH’s 31 wins, including both Saturday.

I wondered if this would’ve been a good time to let her rest and give the freshman arms, Loie Kesterson and Keiki Carlos, more experience. Coolen did get Kesterson in for the last inning of the second game. But he’s more worried about underworking Parnaby than overworking her.

"Right now she’s not getting enough innings. When we played those 10 days in a row she was focused. She may have been tired, but she was focused. Now in conference, five days is a long time to not have competition for a pitcher. With the five-inning (mercy rule) games, pitching 10 innings (in two games) and going into the fourth or fifth of the last game, that’s what she’d normally work as the No. 1 with a strong No. 2."

At least one of the freshmen will eventually have to pitch some big outs if UH is to approach anything close to what it did three years ago. Coolen said they have the talent and "It will be about mental fortitude."

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783 or on Twitter as @dave_reardon.