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After losing eight players from last season’s 30-24 team, the University of Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine softball team has big shoes to fill.
But the ’Bows will get a chance to see who can step up to the plate, with two preseason matches against the Chaminade Silverswords this week.
“The opportunity to play an outside opponent benefits us tremendously, because they play the game with their own style and it gives us opportunities to work on our defensive as well as offensive schemes and situations,” said head coach Bob Coolen.
The Rainbow Wahine will play double-headers with the Silverswords beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday and at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The week will culminate with a friendly game against alumnae at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13.
“A starting lineup is our primary concern and what roles other players will play. We need to see if our players are gamers or just good practice players,” Coolen said. “A game against another opponent either brings out a player’s best moments or shows their true colors.”
The Rainbow Wahine will be led by senior first baseman Amanda Tauali‘i, who earned All-WAC first-team honors and was named to the 2009 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-West region team last season.
Also back are All-WAC performers sophomore designated hitter Makani Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu and senior outfielder Kanani Pu‘u-Warren. On the mound is reigning WAC Freshman of the Year sophomore pitcher Stephanie Ricketts (22-11).
Coolen and the ’Bows also welcome 11 new players. Heading the recruiting class is pitcher Kaia Parnaby from New South Wales, Australia. Parnaby is the latest Aussie pitcher to join UH and is the 12th Australian overall to play for the Rainbow Wahine.
“We’re extremely young and inexperienced,” Coolen said.
However, Coolen sees some improvement this early into training as compared to last season.
“A positive side to this is that we have more pitching than last season, and this should allow us to be more competitive throughout the season since we can rotate them early and often and keep them fresh going into our WAC schedule,” Coolen said.
Hawai‘i will face many challenging teams this season, including defending NCAA Champions, the Washington Huskies. The Rainbow Wahine are scheduled to play the Huskies in the Bank of Hawai‘i Invitational Tournament on March 6, 2010. Also included in Hawai‘i’s schedule are 11 other teams that made the postseason last year.
The WAC schedule will culminate in Las Cruces, N.M., for the WAC Tournament in early May.
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