Having family members in the audience — whether in person or via television — added significance to memorable performances for Makani Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu and Kaia Parnaby on Saturday.

Their contributions at the plate and in the pitcher’s circle helped the University of Hawaii softball team complete a three-game series sweep of Louisiana Tech with two wins shortened by the eight-run mercy rule.

Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu, whose grandmother isn’t able to attend games at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium, put on quite a show in the televised doubleheader. The senior began the afternoon by driving in four runs in UH’s 9-1 win in the opener and hit a towering home run in an 8-0 Rainbow Wahine victory in the series finale.

Parnaby’s parents made the trip from Australia to see her pitch in Saturday’s second game, and the junior left-hander delivered a one-hit shutout to bounce back from her roughest outing of the season.

The No. 14/19 Wahine (35-4, 9-2 Western Athletic Conference) ended all three games of the series early, hitting a collective .426 while outscoring the Lady Techsters (18-23, 5-6) 26-2 over the weekend.

"We really challenged our hitters this week to start swinging the way we’re capable of swinging instead of relying on only a few people to do the job," UH head coach Bob Coolen said after the sweep on "Power in Pink" day.

"If we can start doing what we’re doing and (opponents) fear all aspects of our lineup, it’ll bode well for us."

Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu, in particular, thrived on the emphasis on aggression at the plate. She saw more than two pitches in just one of her eight at-bats in the series, closing the weekend with hits in seven consecutive plate appearances.

The senior first baseman went 7-for-8, raised her batting average in WAC games from .083 to a team-best .400, hit two homers and drove in eight runs in the series.

"My mentality these past couple games was to see the first good pitch and just go for it," Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu said. "(Coolen) tells me there’s nothing to wait for. I just took that to mind and went for it."

In her final swing of the weekend, she blasted a two-run homer to left field that sailed over the protective screen and into the UH Tennis Complex, no doubt thrilling her grandmother, Puddy Duhaylonsod.

"She’s probably at home jumping up and down," she said. "That means a lot, for her to watch me play, especially since this is my last year."

The last time she pitched, Parnaby struggled in a 7-3 loss at Brigham Young and got off to a rocky start again Saturday. She gave up a leadoff single before escaping a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first inning. She held Louisiana Tech without a hit the rest of the way and finished with seven strikeouts and three walks while improving to 13-2.

"I felt the team behind me, they’ve been behind me all week just bouncing back from the BYU game," Parnaby said. "They’ve all had faith in me and today I had faith in myself and I had faith in my defense and it all came together."

The last time she pitched with her mother in the stands, Parnaby threw a no-hitter against Marist on March 14.

"Just to have her back on the island with me is comforting," Parnaby said.

Senior Stephanie Ricketts (22-2) struck out five and gave up four hits to earn the win in the first game of the doubleheader.

Kelly Majam hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first for the second straight game — her 11th homer of the season and 50th of her career — to ignite a four-run first inning, which included a two-run single by Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu.

Sarah Robinson hit a first-inning home run in the second game, and Jessica Iwata added a two-run shot to center field in the fourth inning to bring the mercy rule into effect.

UH heads back on the road this week to face Nevada in a three-game series starting Friday in Reno.