Coming off a late-inning loss on Thursday at the Wilson/DeMarini Desert Classic in Las Vegas, the University of Hawaii softball team got off to a shaky start on Friday before storming back to sweep a doubleheader against Utah State and Utah Valley.

The Rainbow Wahine (5-3) rallied from a 7-0 deficit to beat Utah State 11-10 on Kayla Wartner’s two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning at Stephanie Lynn Craig Softball Complex in Henderson, Nev.

UH rolled the momentum into the second game and pounded Utah Valley 17-3 in five innings. 

"The first game was just that statement we usually make here in Vegas," UH coach Bob Coolen said in a phone interview. "Down 7-0, losing a ballgame like we lost last night, to do that was just a testament to the players that they never gave up."

UH sophomore Heather Morales threw 4 2/3 innings of relief to earn the win against Utah State (0-5).

Freshman Brittany Hitchcock picked up the win against Utah Valley thanks in part to a 10-run second inning outburst from the UH offense.

After seeing BYU walk off with a 5-4 win in the tournament’s opening game on Thursday, UH fell behind Utah State when ‘Iolani graduate Kirstyn Namba hit the first of two Aggies home runs in top of the first inning.  Campbell graduate Nicole Arata added a two-run homer in the third inning to give the Aggies a 7-0 lead.

Lindsey Willmon ignited the UH offense with a two-run homer in the bottom of the third and drove in  two more runs with a single in the fourth.

"She struck out her first at-bat. … Then she started realizing, ‘I have to see the ball, I have to reach for it.’ And then the ball just started screaming off of her bat and everyone caught on and it got contagious," Coolen said.

Wartner contributed to the comeback with a two-run home run later in the fourth inning to cut Utah State’s lead to 7-6. But the Aggies responded with a three-run fifth. UH scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth and another in the sixth to close within a run.

With two out in the bottom of the seventh, Willmon tripled and Wartner followed with her second homer.

After a scoreless first inning against Utah Valley, which won the Western Athletic Conference tournament last season, UH broke away with a 10-run rally in the top of the second aided by four UVU errors and triggered  by Keiki Carlos’ two-run homer.

Utah Valley answered with three runs in the bottom of the second, but UH pulled away with seven runs in the fifth, with Ulu Matagiese delivering a bases-loaded triple before scoring the game’s final run on a passed ball.

"Brittany settled down after (the second inning) and I was just trying to score a lot of runs because it’s so volatile, teams can get a lot of runs in a heartbeat.," Coolen said. "We used everyone, we used a lot of kids and that was rewarding."

The tournament continues Saturday with UH taking on No. 12 UCLA at UNLV’s Eller Media Stadium at 4 p.m.

Noelle Johnson and Kirstyn Namba. Kanani Aina Cabrales, Heather Morales (3) and Rachel Lack, Kayla Wartner (3). W–Morales. L–Johnson.

Leading hitters–Utah State: Libby Pederson, 2 RBIs; Namba, HR; Hailey Froton, 2-3; Brina Buttacavoli, 2-3, 2 HR, 3 RBIs; Nicole Arata, 2-4, HR, 2 RBIs; Jolene Koons, 2-4, 2 RBIs. Hawaii: Lindsey Willmon, 3-5, 3B, HR, 4 RBIs; Kayla Wartner, 2-4, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs; Morales, 2-4, 2B, RBI; Sarina Jaramillo, 2B, RBI; Keiki Carlos, 2-3, RBI.

Brittany Hitchcock, Kanani Aina Cabrales (5) and Kayla Wartner. Bailey Moore, Kelsey Lawton (2), Kailey Christensen (5) and Kori Barrios, Cera Stanley (4). W–Hitchcock. L–Moore.

Leading hitters–Hawaii: Lindsey Willmon, 2-4, 2B; Wartner, 2B; Leisha Li’ili’i, RBI; Heather Morales, 2-3, 2 RBIs; Kristina Akiona, RBI; Sarina Jaramillo, 2-3, 3 RBIs; Keiki Carlos, HR, 2 RBIs; Ulu Matagiese, 3B, 3 RBIs. Utah Valley: Dynasty Lauvai, RBI; Tiani Hensley, 2B, 2 RBIs; Jaylen Watson, 2B.