Pitching, speed expected to be strengths for UH softball team
By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
The University of Hawai'i softball team lost a big bat to the Olympics, but picked up some speed as it prepares for the season opener in a few weeks.
The defending Western Athletic Conference champions will make their debut in the annual alumnae game, 5 p.m. on Saturday at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
The regular season starts Feb. 4 with the Paradise Classic.
The Rainbows, who were 40-20 overall and 17-3 in the WAC, lost senior first baseman Stacey Porter and her team-leading 17 home runs and 42 RBIs, as she is training with the Australian Olympic team. She is expected to return next season.
But the Rainbows have picked up speed with the addition of soccer player Natasha Kai. UH coach Bob Coolen said she is the fastest runner on the team. Because this is her first stint in softball — she played some youth league baseball when she was about 10 years old, she said — Kai is likely to be relegated to pinch running. But she is learning to play the outfield and learning to slap the ball with the bat to use her speed to beat out infield grounders.
Kate Judd, a fixture at shortstop for the past four years, is serving as an undergraduate coach and helping teach Kai.
"She'd come out and hit and catch with me," said Kai, who will be leaving the team for about two weeks to train at soccer's U.S. Under-21 National Team camp at Carson, Calif. "All the coaches have helped me out. They've been totally understanding because it's my first time ever playing softball, so they're kind of lenient about everything. I'm just happy they gave me this opportunity."
Although her role will be limited, and she will miss some workouts and games because of her soccer commitments, her teammates have accepted her. Kai said she and soccer teammate Erin Chow informally worked out with the softball team last season.
"Natasha is one of the most athletic girls I've ever met in my life," said senior center fielder Marie Jackson, one of the co-captains. "She pretty much picked up the whole sport in one year. She is the fastest girl on the team. She's a smart player, too, especially when it comes to pinch-running. When we get her on the bases, I guarantee that if she has the opportunity, she'll steal on any catcher in the nation."
But the Rainbows are going need more than speed to defend their title. With the loss of Porter and a strong off-season performance by Fresno State pitcher Jamie Southern, the Bulldogs are the preseason favorite in a poll of conference coaches. Starting catcher Denise Dahlberg doesn't see the prediction as a slight.
"Sometimes it's better to not be put on top, so we can kind of just work our way up," the junior co-captain said. "(It's) incentive to work harder, definitely."
What Dahlberg gets to work with is an experienced pitching staff. Junior Melissa Coogan (32-11, 1.42 ERA), juniors Shannon Tabion (6-8, 2.46) and sophomore Paula Blanning (2-1, 2.10) return from a staff that posted a 1.73 ERA.
Coogan accounted for 67 percent of the team's starts, winning 80 percent of the decisions. But Blanning and Tabion should be able to pitch more than they did last year.
"Melissa did a wonderful job," Jackson said. "I think she's going to step it up on the mound, but she can actually rest a little more this year."
With the pitching intact, the only question is whether the Rainbows can make up for the loss of the power potential from Porter and Judd. April Crowell does return: Her 11 homers and 36 RBIs were just behind Porter.
"We lost some of our key offensive players, but I think it's going to be up to the people that are left to pick it up," Dahlberg said. "Our pitching staff is going to help out a lot, but it's definitely going to come down to scoring runs."
Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8042.
