Soon after the University of Hawai'i completed yesterday's sweep of San Jose State, 2-0 and 3-0, first baseman Tyleen Tausaga voiced what her Rainbow Wahine teammates had been thinking.

"We're like, 'Let's play three!' " Tausaga said. "We're ready. It's been raining for how long? It finally stopped. We want to keep playing."

Indeed, after rainouts Friday and Saturday, UH sought to play a tripleheader yesterday — a request turned down by Spartan coach DeeDee Enabenter-Omidiji from the Mainland, where she is tending to a family emergency.

"It's too bad," Tausaga said. "We're on a roll. We want to keep it going."

Freshmen Justine Smethurst and Courtney Baughman pitched back-to-back shutouts to extend the Rainbows' winning streak to seven. UH is 21-13 overall and 5-0 in the Western Athletic Conference, tying its second- best league start in the program's 22-year history.

It is a surge crafted with stingy pitching — Smethurst has not allowed an earned run in her past two starts — and aggressive hitting. "We're starting to put it together," Coolen said.

In the first game, it was a fielder's choice that turned the momentum for the Rainbows. Twylla Vennum entered as a pinch-runner for Audrey Andrade, who doubled to start the fifth. One out later, Valana Manuma grounded to third baseman Kristy Ballinger, who tried to throw out Vennum, who was retreating to second. Vennum slid under second baseman Danielle Eakins' tag.

"I felt the ball coming, so I reached out and stuck my hand on the (base)," Vennum said.

Coolen said: "That was very critical. That was the whole turning point of the inning. If she didn't get back, we wouldn't have had the runners where they were."

Vennum and Manuma advanced on a wild pitch, and one out later, both scored on Brandi Peiler's bloop to left field.

"I was trying to be aggressive, because the inning before I didn't hit a really good pitch when I had the chance," Peiler said.

That was enough cushion for Smethurst (10-7), who allowed two hits while striking out 11. Smethurst's drop-ball — which starts knee-high and begins descending three feet from the plate — was conducive to umpire Walter Yamatsuka's low strike zone.

"He was calling my pitch, which was really good, and the screwball," Smethurst said. "I went to that advantage."

She also received help from catcher Kristi Yoshizawa's "framing," a technique in which it appears every drop-ball is caught in the strike zone.

Yoshizawa, who calls all of the pitches, said Smethurst's drop-ball "always has a lot of movement, but it was really moving today. If we needed to get a strikeout or to get ahead (in the count), we used the drop."

Baughman (7-3) baffled the Spartans with screwballs and riseballs. She spaced three hits and did not issue a walk. She retired 13 of the final 14 batters; 33 of her last 41 pitches were strikes.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.