Doubleheaders are set for 5 p.m. today and 3 p.m. tomorrow at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

The Bulldogs (6-0 WAC, 33-12 overall) hold a one-game lead on the Rainbows (4-0, 22-19).

"This series is definitely going to decide whether or not we're going to win the WAC," UH junior right-handed pitcher Melissa Coogan said. "If we lose, it might not matter because down the road, (the Bulldogs) probably are going to end up beating the majority of teams. We have to make it happen here."

Rainbows coach Bob Coolen said this series is crucial for two reasons. First, winning gives the team a boost for road trips to Tulsa and Nevada for conference play. Second, Fresno State is the only ranked team UH has left on its schedule. The Rainbows need a boost in case it needs an at-large bid to make the regionals.

"This one will set us up for the road," Coolen said. "We need to beat another ranked team and that's Fresno. If we beat Fresno or split with them, it sends a message that we found ourselves and we're a force. But we can't hit the road and falter. We have 20 games left and all are going to be tough with these four (with the Bulldogs) being the flagship games that will determine our season."

This series will come down to the pitcher's circle. Hawai'i starters Coogan (8-10, 2.06 ERA) and Shannon Tabion (14-6, 1.69), a two-time WAC Pitcher of the Week honoree, will need their A-games because the Bulldogs will counter with two-time All-America selection Jamie Southern (22-5, 0.26). She has started two-thirds of the Bulldogs games this season. She might pitch in all four games against UH; in games she doesn't start, she will probably pitch in relief. The Rainbows did beat her last year.

"It's not like she's unbeatable," Tabion said. "But she's a good pitcher and I'm not taking anything away from that. It's who wants it more."

Added Coogan: "I know Jamie Southern is a good pitcher, but we've faced her before and beat her last year. There's talk we'll face her four times. If that does happen, by the time we see her four times, we're going to get to her. It will definitely be competitive, but not something we can't handle."

Hawai'i's two pitchers will have to be at their best because the offense has struggled all season. The Rainbows have only one .300 hitter in first baseman Stacey Ritter (.333) and their next-best hitter is freshman Tyleen Tausaga (.298), who leads the team with 30 RBIs. Catcher Denise Dahlberg (.263) leads the team with five home runs.

MELISSA COOGAN

On Wednesday, Clark and Southern were named among the top 25 finalists for the Amateur Softball Association's Collegiate Player of the Year.

Coogan was hampered by shin splints before the season started, but has been pitching well of late. After two 1-0 losses at Stanford, she beat UTEP twice.

"I've been hurt in the past, but I've never had something that's never let me able to pitch," said Coogan, last year's WAC Pitcher of the Year when she went 32-11 with a 1.42 ERA. "But since the middle of the season, I started feeling a lot better, started feeling like my old self."

But Tabion picked up the slack and has at least 10 starts left in her quest for a 20-win season. If she does, she would accomplish her second goal. Her first was simple.

"I wanted to play for Hawai'i to show that a Hawai'i(-raised) pitcher could pitch at (UH)," she said. "I've always seen Mainland pitchers dominating for Hawai'i and I've always wanted to play, to show that Hawai'i pitchers can make it."