Hawaiʻi softball shuts out Kansas City en route to first win of 2024

The Rainbow Wāhine Softball team erased an ugly season-opening loss to Nevada with a 5-0 shutout of the Kansas City Roos at Rainbow Wāhine Softball Stadium on the second day of the Bank of Hawaiʻi Paradise Classic on Friday.

Newcomer Addison Kostrencich proved she came to play and fired a complete game against Kansas City. She threw a mind-blowing six strikeouts in the win.

Kansas City's Kadin Vire logged the first hit of the game, but she could not take advantage with the first run of the game.

After two scoreless innings, UH got on the board first in the third inning via an Izabella Martinez RBI single, which allowed Maycen Gibbs to come home. Martinez would score on her own with Xiao Gin at the plate and a Kansas City error which allowed Maya Ichimura to get to third.

"We were all disappointed in our performance as a team," Gibbs said of the 10-2 loss to Nevada.

Just like that, it was 2-0 UH.

One inning later, Mya'Liah Bethea bombed a solo home run to right field to make it 3-0 UH.

"She works really hard," Gibbs said of Bethea's home run. "To see that translate on the field really makes us happy as a team."

After a scoreless fifth inning, Martinez belted another RBI single. While Kaʻena Keliinoi was tagged out at second base, Gibbs and Maya Nakamura both got unearned runs to make it 5-0 UH.

Amelia Fitzgerald would log the Roos' second and final hit of the game in the seventh inning. No Roos player could get past second base from that point on.

Camryn Stickel took the loss for Kansas City.

The Wāhine improve to 1-1 in 2024 and will return to the diamond on Saturday for day three of the Bank of Hawaiʻi Paradise Classic in a doubleheader against Brigham Young University at 3:30 p.m. HST, and against Ole Miss at 6 p.m. HST.