No. 15 Hawai'i slugged its way to a 9-5 win against Kentucky last night in the opener of the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic softball tournament at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

It was the season opener for the Rainbows, but the fifth outing for the Wildcats (2-3).

Katie Grimes' two-run double in the second inning allowed UH to overcome an early 1-0 deficit. Clare Warwick, who finished 3 for 4, smashed the first home run of UH's season — a two-run liner to left-center that capped a four-run sixth. The Rainbows amassed 11 hits, including doubles by Tanisha Milca, Kate Robinson (two) and Brandi Peiler.

"We were hoping to come out with the offense we had last year," UH coach Bob Coolen said. "We had all the ingredients for the offense. It's a matter of what we're going to do on the mound. We have to establish some presence on the mound."

Courtney Baughman (1-0) went the distance, allowing five runs and 10 hits with five strikeouts. Natalie Smith did most of the damage for Kentucky, batting 4 for 4 with two doubles and two runs. Destinee Mordecai's two-run double highlighted a three-run sixth that cut the Wildcats' deficit to 8-4.

"Instead of just throwing, she started thinking about the game," Coolen said of Baughman. "She started aiming some of her pitches. That's mental and she has to get stronger. She has to have the presence on the mound."

Baughman said: "Overall, we got the W. I could've done better at the end, but we finished."

The Wildcats jumped on Baughman in the first when Smith doubled on an 0-2 pitch and took third when Molly Johnson singled on an 0-2 count. Smith scored when Becky Bishop grounded out to short.

But UH, the visiting team by coin toss, took a lead it would not relinquish on Grimes' two-run double in the second.

"It's really important for us to score when we have runners on, especially when we were down," Grimes said. "Kentucky's good. They're from the SEC, the second-ranked conference in the nation. We knew we had to score early, get on it."

The Rainbows got a gift in the fifth as two runs scored when left fielder Mordecai misplayed a liner off the bat of Kaulana Gould that made UH's lead 4-1.

Hawai'i blew open the game with a four-run sixth on a sacrifice fly by Richie-Anne Titcomb and run-scoring single by Milca. Warwick followed with her homer to make it 8-1.

HAWAI'I (1-0) 020 024 1—9 11 1

KENTUCKY (2-3) 100 003 1—5 10 2

Courtney Baughman and Katie Grimes. Amber Matousek and Meagan Aull. W — Baughman (1-0). L — Matousek (1-2).

Leading hitters — Hawai'i: Tanisha Milca double, RBI, 2-3; Robinson 2 doubles, 2-4; Brandi Peiler double; Clare Warwick homer, 3-4, 2 RBIs. Kentucky: Natalie Smith 2 doubles, 4-4; Destinee Mordecai double, 2 RBIs.

CENTRAL FLORIDA 5, LONG BEACH STATE 3

Tiffany Lane's two-out, three-run home run to left-center in the bottom of the 10th inning rallied the Knights (4-2) past the 49ers (2-3) in the tournament opener.

LONG BEACH ST. (2-3) 000 000 001 2—3 8 1

CENTRAL FLA. (4-2) 000 000 001 4—5 7 1

Bridgette Pagano and Brooke SeSage. Allison Kime and Lindsay Dean. W — Kime (3-1). L — Pagano (1-2)

Leading hitters — LBSU: Brooke LeSage 3-5, 2 RBI. Central Florida: Tiffany Lane 2-5, 3-run home run; Hillary Barrow 2-4.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.