Hawaii Rainbows
Overall Rank: #41
Conference Rank: #4 WAC
Hawaii Team Page
The Hawaii Rainbows followed their magical run to the 2010 College World Series with another solid season in 2011, but it was cut short with two tough losses in the WAC conference tourney to New Mexico State and Fresno State. A highly motivated squad returns in 2012 on a mission to get back to the NCAA Tournament.
2011: 37-18, 14-7
2011 Postseason: none
Coach: Bob Coolen
Field Players:
It starts with All-American shortstop Jessica Iwata. She anchors the number three spot in the batting order and was the WAC player of the year in 2011 for good reason as she led Hawaii in virtually every offensive category from batting average to homeruns and slugging percentage. Alex Aguirre complements the power of Iwata with her work on the base paths, stealing a team high 12 bases in 2011. Centerfielder Kelly Majam returns with her sparkling defense as last year she had a 1.000 fielding percentage while garnering second team all-WAC honors.
Pitchers:
Junior Easton All-American, Stephanie Ricketts, returns in the circle. She had 250 strikeouts in 235 innings last season, lowering her earned run average by nearly a run down to 1.58. She will be the workhorse, complimented by Australian Kaia Parnaby who won 12 games and had a 1.28 earned run average in 17 starts in 2011.
Who to Watch:
Sharla Kilebenstein will be a huge asset behind the plate for the Rainbows. She is very steady defensively with a .993 fielding percentage and brings plenty of power to the lineup coming off a 13 homerun season in 2011. Look for Sarah Robinson’s role to expand at third base, first base and designated player as she comes off a 39 game start season in 2011. Also Dara Pagaduan had a strong fall at the plate, so if she can build on that in the spring that will make the Hawaii offense that much more explosive.
Final Projection:
With BYU joining the WAC in softball, the power rankings for the league should improve allowing more teams to reach the NCAA tourney with at large bids in 2012. Hawaii only has three conference home series so how they handle the travel in conference play will be very important for their seeding for the WAC Conference tournament, which this year is in Las Cruces on the campus of defending champions, New Mexico State. Power has been the name of the game for Hawaii in recent years and they should continue that trend with Iwata and Kliebenstein leading the way as both have legitimate shots at 20 homerun seasons. Kelly Majam and Alex Aguirre have double figure homerun capability as well, giving Hawaii a great shot to break the 100 homerun mark as a team if things fall into place. This team should be able to secure an at-large regional berth come mid-May.
Projected Postseason: NCAA
Returning Leaders:
At Bats: Jessica Iwata, SS, 169
Hits: Jessica Iwata, SS, 61
Home Runs: Jessica Iwata, SS, 15
RBIs: Jessica Iwata, SS, 44
Runs: Jessica Iwata, SS, 43
Stolen Bases: Alex Aguirre, LF, 12
Wins: Stephanie Ricketts, P/1B, 22
Innings Pitched: Stephanie Ricketts, P/1B, 235
Strikeouts: Stephanie Ricketts, P/1B, 250
Saves: Kaia Parnaby, P, 1
