Compared to the University of Hawaii softball team’s recent schedule, a three-day break represented a considerable layoff.
After playing 10 games in a nine-day span, the Wahine had the start of the week to recharge before opening the last of their six early-season tournaments.
HAWAII PACIFIC HEALTH RAINBOW WAHINE CLASSIC
At Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium
» When: Today to Saturday
» Today: Texas vs. Iowa, 3:30 p.m.; Iowa vs. Hawaii, 6 p.m.
» Thursday: Iowa vs. Texas, 3:30 p.m.; Texas vs. Hawaii, 6 p.m.
» Friday: Iowa vs. Hawaii, 5 p.m.; Texas vs. Hawaii, 7 p.m.
» Saturday: Iowa vs. Hawaii, noon.; Texas vs. Hawaii, 2 p.m.
The Rainbow Wahine (13-14) finish off the nonconference schedule by playing host to Texas and Iowa in the Hawaii Pacific Health Rainbow Wahine Classic. The tournament opens today with UH facing Iowa at 6 p.m. in the second game of a doubleheader at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
The Wahine will play six games over the four-day tournament, facing Iowa and Texas three times each.
After this week’s tournament, the Wahine will have close to two weeks to prepare for the Big West opener on April 1 at UC Davis.
Coming off a 1-4 showing in last week’s Outrigger Spring Fling Tournament, UH coach Bob Coolen said tightening up the defense was among the points of emphasis for a team with 42 errors in 27 games entering the week.
“We talked a little bit about shoring ourselves up defensively and trying to get a little bit more positive attitude when we’re on the field,” Coolen said, “because what happens is our defensive errors then lead to pitching mistakes.”
Although the Wahine dropped their first four games of last week’s tournament, they were within a run of California and No. 21 Baylor and ended the weekend by rallying from a five-run deficit to edge North Dakota State 7-6 in nine innings.
Coolen said some of last week’s performances show “how good we can be if we don’t make mistakes.”
“The pitching has been getting better, but now we have to get our hitting intact,” he said.
“We were free swinging (in the comeback against NDSU), and that’s what we have to do. That’s our MO and we just lost that for a while.”
Coolen expects to give pitchers Kanani Aina Cabrales, Jennifer Iseri and Brittany Hitchcock starts again this week. Aina Cabrales was effective in relief in UH’s last three games of the week and earned the win with six solid innings against NDSU last Saturday.
Texas (16-4) fell out of the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 this week and the Longhorns are receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA poll. Iowa (6-13) has yet to play a home game and has played in tournaments in Texas, Illinois, South Carolina and Oklahoma before making the trip to Hawaii.
