The University of Hawai'i softball team is leaving Las Vegas tomorrow with more game experience and, perhaps, a new pitching rotation.

The Rainbow Wahine went 3-4 during the weeklong road trip, with freshman Justine Smethurst of Australia reaffirming her place as the pitching ace.

But freshman Courtney Baughman went 1-1 on the trip, yielding five runs in 5 2/3 innings in a loss to previously winless New Mexico, opening the competition for the No. 2 spot in the rotation. UH coach Bob Coolen said Baughman and reliever Jessica Morton are the top candidates.

"We're looking for consistency" at the No. 2 spot, said Coolen, whose team hosts next week's Pepsi Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament.

During a recent team meeting, Coolen said, Baughman admitted "she needs to pitch better. She needs to focus a little better. She'll get the first two outs in an inning, but her third elusive out is her downfall. ... That's what happened against New Mexico."

Baughman appears to complement the power-throwing Smethurst. Baughman mixes a drop-curve, a 63-mph riser and a screwball that breaks sharply toward the batting gloves of a right-handed batter.

But Baughman often is too accurate, rarely inducing over-eager batters to chase pitches off the plate. Baughman's pitches are "on the white, not the corners," Coolen said.

Morton has made two starts this season, allowing an unearned run in a complete-game victory over Southern Mississippi and exiting after 1 2/3 innings in a loss to Texas Arlington. That second start was abbreviated largely because she suffered a burst blister on the index finger of her right (pitching) hand.

Coolen said Morton's riseball has been timed at 65 mph. He said she needs to launch her dropball at a higher plane; it often breaks downward too early. "Some batters aren't even swinging at it," Coolen said. "She needs to tweak that pitch."

Although this is Morton's third year at UH, her track record is inconclusive. She missed all but one game in 2004 because of a back injury. Last year, she was limited after suffering a broken right thumb and then a broken jaw.

Coolen said he will decide on the No. 2 starter based on practice performances. He said he will create situations in which Baughman and Morton will pitch with 2-0 and 3-1 counts.

"Then we'll see who responds; who can make the best pitches without really getting hit," Coolen said.

If Morton emerges as a starter, either the rotation will expand to three pitchers or Baughman will need to adjust to relief pitching. Her only experience is as a starter.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.