StarBulletin.com

Majam's WAC record highlights UH sweep


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POSTED: Sunday, April 18, 2010

On “;Power in Pink”; day, the Hawaii softball team produced yet another power surge at the plate.

UH freshman Kelly Majam broke the Western Athletic Conference's single-season home run record by hitting her 24th in an 8-5 win in the opening game of yesterday's doubleheader against Louisiana Tech. The Rainbow Wahine then hit four more deep in a five-inning 9-0 TKO, the last three coming in a six-run fifth inning, to complete the series sweep.

With the biggest crowd of the season filling Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium, the pink-clad Wahine (36-11, 14-0 WAC) set a program record by winning their 14th straight, breaking the mark set in 1994, when Brooke Wilkins led UH to its first NCAA regional appearance.

“;I think we're all on a high right now and seeing how long we can stay on that high,”; said third baseman Melissa Gonzalez, who homered twice and drove in five runs in the second game. “;We're having a lot of fun. We have this feeling and we want to keep it as long as we can.”;

With six homers in the doubleheader, UH raised its season total to 113, creeping closer to the NCAA record of 132 set by Arizona last year with six regular-season games and at least two at the WAC tournament remaining.

Majam passed former Fresno State standout Christina Clark on the WAC's single-season home run chart with her 24th homer of the season in the opener.

Majam slammed the record breaker the opposite way in her lone official at-bat of the game, sending a towering shot out to left-center in the bottom of the sixth inning.

“;I actually didn't know I got that record,”; said Majam, who walked seven times in the series. “;I was just trying to get a hit. I was battling some frustration, I hadn't gotten pitched to all day. So I definitely liked getting that one.”;

After Majam and fellow freshman Jessica Iwata homered in the opener, the veterans got into the act in the second game. Gonzalez, a junior, opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the third and added a three-run shot in the sixth for her 17th of the year. Junior Alexandra Aguirre lined a shot to right-center later in the inning and senior Amanda Taualii ended the game with a two-run homer to center to bring the mercy rule into effect.

“;I struggled this whole series and that was just a good way to go out and go on the road,”; Taualii said. “;The excitement was there and we wanted it and we took care of business.”;

Hawaii wore pink uniforms as part of Under Armour's campaign to fight breast cancer, and took control early in the opener with a four-run first inning off of Louisiana Tech ace Meghan Krieg. UH led 7-0 before LaTech (21-15, 6-6) hit three homers in the last two innings to close to within three. But Stephanie Ricketts closed the game in relief of Kaia Parnaby (16-5) to seal UH's 13th straight win.

Ricketts (19-6) started the finale and held the Lady Techsters to two hits in her third shutout of the season.

The Rainbow Wahine head back on the road for a three-game series at Nevada (16-20, 3-8) starting Friday. Fresno State remains second in the WAC standings at 9-3.

“;Right now I'm just going to take it one step at a time, and get butterflies beginning Monday thinking about what we're going to do in Reno,”; head coach Bob Coolen said.