UH softball tourney starts today

HONOLULU — The No. 25 Rainbow Wahine softball team (12-2) returns to host the 2007 Pepsi Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament this weekend. Hawai‘i opens the tournament with a double header today starting at 4 p.m. against No. 22 Oregon followed by defending MAC Champions Kent State. The tournament runs through Sunday, admission is free.

The Rainbow Wahine are on a seven-game win streak after going 7-1 on their first road trip of the year. Their 12-2 start is their best since 1998. The squad broke through in both Top 25 polls this week. It is the first time since the end of the 2003 season that UH has been ranked. Hawai‘i is No.25 in the NFCA/USA Today Coaches’ poll and No.24 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. It is the first time ever that UH has entered the Top 25 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. It has been in existence since 2003.

Reigning WAC Hitter of the Week, junior first baseman/pitcher Kate Robinson last hit .409 with seven runs scored, two doubles, five home runs, and drove in 12 runs. Against Southern Utah, she not only pitched a complete game, one-hit shut-out, but she also went 3-for-3 with a two-run double and a pair of two-run home runs. She also hit two home runs against Colorado State on the first day of the Louisville-Slugger Desert Classic.

Sophomore third baseman Clare Warwick has been the model of consistency for the Rainbow Wahine on offense. On the season she is hitting .512 (21-for-41) with eight runs scored, two doubles, and a home run thus far this season.

Senior second baseman Alana Power hit .364 on the road, going 8-for-22 with five runs scored and two home runs. She hit one of three Hawai‘i grand slams on the trip. Sophomore outfielder Tanisha Milca returned to the starting line-up after getting injured in the first game of the Desert Classic in UH’s final road game against LMU. On her return, she hit two home runs with three runs scored and four RBI. She finished the tournament hitting .400 going 4-for-10.