Comments on: Hawaii softball: Losing streak extends to 6 on Rainbow Wahine Classic opening day

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 05:29:36 +0000

The last win over a Power 5 foe was Purdue in 2017.

By: Honu

Honu — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 06:57:54 +0000

This year is a rebuilding year. Coolen picked up some good rookies in Maya Nakamura, Ka’ena Kellinoi, Rachel Sabourin – all who are capable of being starters. Problem is Coolen recruited a lot of players who didn’t pan out. Whatever happened to Brianna Wheeler?

Have a look at the seniors – only two left in Heen and Ramos? No senior pitcher? Now Coolen has a few sophmore pitchers in Dino and Murphy and some freshmen. Klee has looked good the last few games, but we’ve seen this before. Why is Hawaii the only Big West program that does NOT have a pitching coach? I was at the games yesterday and watched Dino play well against the #19 ranked NCAA team in Minnesota despite giving up runs later in the game to lose a close one 3-2 s. Also watched her hold down Iowa from the Big 10 a few weeks ago 0-0 going into the 6th or 7th inning when the Iowa pitcher struck out 15 of our batters. I remember watching Hitchcock struggle herself against Power 5 teams the past several years including losses to UCLA, Alabama, Oregon, etc. though she had some good games against Oregon State and Utah if my memory serves me.

When was the last time this team beat a Power 5 team?

One thing that I have noticed the past few weekends I have watched this team is timely hitting. Saw it as a problem against Seattle U and Oregon State. As much as I like Bree Soma and watched her play at Maryknoll, her batting average has been .200 or below. On most teams, she wouldn’t be in the batting order despite looking good in left field.

This team lacks leadership from the seniors on the team. Matt mentions Callee Heen’s intensity, but I wonder if this team has enough senior leadership to guide the younger players. Now I’m wondering about next year. How many Juniors this year who can provide leadership and back up their leadership with play on the field? I like some of these young players – when I see Nakamura and Kellinoi, they bring back good memories of players like Iwata and Majam.

It’s going to be an interesting next few years. Hopefully Coolen figures this out. He’s got some talent, but there are gaps here. Hawaii needs to deal with its pitching issues, but I think there is talent there. It needs to be developed.

By: H-Man

H-Man — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 19:16:26 +0000

JMO, hindsight always 20-20; however, there is a pattern here. I feel Coach Coolen waits too long to replace Izzy Dino in the game against Minnesota. Wahine had a 2-0 lead going into the 6th, the record shows Dino usually struggles from the 5th on. He should have brought in a relief pitcher sooner.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 18:31:18 +0000

What’s concerning to me is that Callee’s not bringing the same intensity that she brought from last year. Alarmingly, this year’s roster is really young. 10 freshmen and 6 sophomores with no seniors in the pitching circle. This feels like a rebuild for Bob Coolen, and that’s kind of where it gets nitty-gritty for him because this is ultimately going to be an up-and-down kind of season for him. There were games that this team should have won, and games that sort of got away from him.

I agree with Bob’s comment after the Minnesota loss that this team needs more production from their sophomores because with such a young class and half of the upperclassmen at his disposal, this is where it gets more tricky from here on out. What is of concern is how it’ll end because prior to going to the doubleheader on Seattle U and Nevada, one of the fans remarked of the concerns with how the Wahine will do against conference competition, and that is of concern because if it does repeat like the 2018 season, there’s no telling what will happen then.

I’m concerned with what is going to happen with the softball team moving ahead.