Hawaii's five-run lead went the way of the Wicked Witch of the West and the spilled shave ice on the new car seat. It melted away, and it was not a very pretty thing to behold.

Jessica Iwata and Kelly Majam both struck out with the bases loaded. Fresno State's Caitlin Stiglich hits the kill shots—a grand slam and a three-run homer in the seventh.

No more unbeaten WAC season. No more winning streak.

Some UH teams, and the stadium would've emptied out between games. This is a front-running sports town. And with free admission, no investment to amortize.

But they came not only to see underclassmen Majam, Iwata and Melissa Gonzalez try to hit home runs, they came for the senior sendoff. And UH was playing its rival. Pretty much all 1,200 stuck around, and were rewarded with a thrilling second game, the Rainbow Wahine bouncing back on Iwata's dramatic, clutch float-off homer.

That relieved the sting of the first game, a perfect way to end a dream of a regular season. Now, the WAC tournament and beyond and the Wahine need six home runs to match the nation's single-season team record.

But for a second, forget about how far the balls go. How far can this team go?

KATIE GRIMES went 0-for-7 in her last home games. But look at this: She played in all 53 games—as a catcher.

Amid all the home run records, the big crowds, the WAC winning streak and Stephanie Ricketts' long scoreless inning skein, Grimes' is perhaps the most important achievement to this team and its postseason hopes.

It's about durability, experience and leadership. Traits that will come in real handy later this month.

If you've ever caught, you know how hard it is to play in that many games. If not, imagine sitting in an invisible chair for two hours while someone throws rocks at you. Imagine it three or more times a week, plus practices, for four months—all the while, under the stress of leading your team and especially your pitchers.

Look at the lineups of the teams in the College World Series. I bet most of them have very experienced catchers.

Here's something else to like about Grimes and the other seniors: They're a bridge to the 2007 Rainbow Wahine, the team that came tantalizingly close to the College World Series. Jason Kaneshiro reminded me Grimes was the WAC Freshman of the Year, and she was a walk-on who basically talked her way onto the team.

I'm told Majam, a spectacular freshman who leads the nation in homers (and, last night, circus catches in center) could've gone anywhere, but chose Hawaii because of that '07 team. Could it be UH softball is becoming like UH volleyball? A program that reloads rather than rebuilds?

AS PAL Eldredge (pinch-hitting in the booth for injured Jim Leahey) said, this team is “;the best entertainment value in town.”; You know it's a big thing when the chancellor hangs out in the dugout, right there on the rail with the players. Thanks to some fans' initiative, thousands of dollars in donations were collected at the games this weekend.

The home runs brought the attention, the excitement and the crowd. But the senior leadership—especially from Grimes, the iron woman at catcher—is a key to how far the Rainbow Wahine go from here.

Reach Star-Bulletin sports columnist Dave Reardon at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), his “;Quick Reads”; blog at starbulletin.com, and twitter.com/davereardon.