VIDEO: Rainbow Wahine roll into hectic March softball schedule

Break time is over.

Ten days removed from its last game, the Rainbow Wahine softball team resumes its stop-and-go-go-go nonconference schedule with the start of the Outrigger Resorts Hawaii Spring Fling Tournament on Wednesday.

UH’s matchup with St. Bonaventure, scheduled for 6 p.m. as the second game of a doubleheader at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium, opens a stretch of 12 games over the next 11 days for a team looking to extend the program’s best start since 2012.

The Wahine (12-4) began their lengthy homestand with a run of seven games over a five-day span that included a third-place finish in the Hawaii Invitational before their break in the schedule. After this week’s Spring Fling, the Wahine have a day off on Sunday, stand-alone games on Monday and Tuesday and roll straight into the four-day Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic.

UH coach Bob Coolen has called the team’s annual spring softball-fest the Wahine version of March madness and this year’s lineup includes four pairings with power-five opponents.

“We haven’t had a stretch like that in a long time,” Coolen said. “Eleven playing days, 10 playing days … we’ll be playing in and out of tournaments. No bracket, all pool play. We have teams coming in late, coming in early, staying late, staying two weeks.”

#HawaiiSB coach Bob Coolen on the batting lineup heading into a spate of home games for the 12-4 Rainbow Wahine. pic.twitter.com/lCgDelaa8A

— Hawaii Warrior World (@hawaiiwworld) March 6, 2019

But first things first and the slate begins with Wednesday’s meeting with St. Bonaventure, which arrived in Hawaii at 0-4. UH takes on California (11-7) on what shapes up as a hectic Thursday on the Lower Campus, with the Rainbow Warrior volleyball team in action against King at the Stan Sheriff Center and the baseball team opening a series with Oregon at Les Murakami Stadium.

Cal returns for its near-annual visit with Kamehameha graduate Kamalani Dung at the head of the pitching staff. Dung enters the week at 6-3 with a 2.22 earned-run average. Opponents are hitting .183 off the right-hander who has 62 strikeouts against 22 walks over 53 2/3 innings. She earned a win for Cal in UH’s home opener last season and is the subject of a feature in the San Francisco Chronicle.

UH will face Niagara on Friday in the first of four meetings between the Wahine and Purple Eagles over the next two weeks. Niagara, which went 16-33 last year, opens its season this week and will play 13 games at RWSS during its Oahu stay.

SIU-Edwardsville (5-5) and Utah (7-12) open their tournament schedules on Saturday. After the Spring Fling, UH takes on SIUE on Monday and Utah on Tuesday.

SIUE and Niagara will stick around for the Rainbow Wahine Classic and will be joined in the field by No. 5 Alabama.

The Crimson Tide entered the week as one of the final two unbeaten teams in Division I at 20-0 with No. 1 Florida State (22-0) the other. Alabama opens SEC play at home against Missouri this weekend before heading to Hawaii.

“We thought we’d pick up Alabama at the end, twice, because of RPI and everything,” Coolen said. “It’ll be nice to play them twice in that tournament and see where we’re both at.”

The Wahine and Crimson Tide will meet on March 15 and 16, their first matchups since UH’s upset of Alabama in the 2010 Super Regionals.

“We’ve been hearing about Alabama for years,” third baseman Nicole Lopez said. “Since I was a freshman, I knew about how great that feeling was. And I always watch it on YouTube. That game, especially. This is my first time playing Alabama, so I’m really excited.”

Lopez will look to maintain her groove at the plate through the break. When last the senior was on the field, she was finishing off a week that earned her Big West field player of the week honors and she enters the next stretch hitting a team-high .455. Hitting in the second spot in the lineup, Lopez ranks fourth in the nation with 1.44 runs scored per game (23 total).

#HawaiiSB 3B Nicole Lopez on facing Kamehameha alumna Kamalani Dung and Cal as well as Alabama at home in the coming days. pic.twitter.com/Yp2Kwsw7zj

— Hawaii Warrior World (@hawaiiwworld) March 6, 2019

“Nicole is really settled in her senior year. She’s seeing the ball no matter where they’re throwing it,” Coolen said. “She’s hitting opposite-field home runs, she’s hitting balls that are over her hands. She’s done a real nice job of making adjustments at the plate.”

Callee Heen has been nearly as hot at .425 and leads the Wahine with 15 RBIs and six home runs. She has alternated between playing first base and catcher, where she’s split time with senior Heather Cameron, who is hitting .350 with four doubles.

Freshman Izzy Dino leads with the pitching staff at 4-1 with a 2.31 earned-run average with senior Brittany Hitchcock right behind at 4-3 and 2.89.