The Hawaii softball team gets a much-needed reset this weekend.

UH, which struggled to a 7-14 record in nonconference play, looks forward to a fresh start for the 27-game Big West schedule that begins at 9 a.m. Hawaii time Friday at UC Santa Barbara.

It is the final year in which the Big West will use the regular season to determine its automatic NCAA Tournament bid recipient. Starting in 2025, there will be a conference tournament to determine the overall champion.

Thirty-third year head coach Bob Coolen figures the Rainbow Wahine have to average a 2-1 record in the nine three-game Big West series to give themselves a chance for the program’s first postseason berth since 2013. That would equate to an 18-9 conference record.

Preseason favorite Cal State Fullerton went 14-10 in nonconference play and Cal State Northridge put up the best record at 16-7. Long Beach State, an NCAA Tournament participant last year, is 4-21.

“Our conference is not really strong this year,” Coolen said. “Everyone has at least nine, 10, 11 losses, so we’re not out of it. We did schedule tough, and, hopefully, it helps us as we make our way through the conference.”

Hawaii is 187th of 307 Division I teams in RPI. Fullerton is 52^nd, CSUN is 90^th and Cal Poly is 92^nd.

UH was 13-14 last year (30-23 overall) for a tie for fifth place.

Coolen anticipated a roster stocked with returnees this season, so he loaded up the nonconference. UH participated in the stacked Mary Nutter Classic in California and went 0-5 against the likes of No. 5 Tennessee and No. 21 Cal. Respectable foes like Nevada and Ole Miss traveled to the Islands and made life difficult at home, too.

Pitching has been the main issue. Coolen said the staff has yet to recover since UH’s ace of the last two years, Brianna Lopez, defected to Ole Miss in the offseason, as players at the back end of the rotation had to step into greater roles than they were ready for. UH’s staff earned-run average is .533 compared to 3.34 for opponents.

Long Beach State transfer Addison Kostrencich has emerged as UH’s new No. 1 with a 4-5 record and two shutouts. She is the only pitcher on staff with more strikeouts (12) to walks (10). Coolen hopes last year’s No. 2, Key-annah Campbell-Pua (1-5), rises to the occasion for conference play.

“I feel like we’re fairly prepared,” said senior second baseman Maya Nakamura, the reigning Big West Field Player of the Week. “I know our record doesn’t show very well, but because of the tough teams we played, some of the close games we had, we are better prepared than we were last season.”

The Wahine capped off nonconference play with two wins over Cleveland State in the Outrigger Rainbow Wahine Classic. Nakamura collected six of her season team-high 14 RBIs in those games.

A strong close to pre-conference play was important for the fifth-year senior, who at one point was batting an uncharacteristic .100. She is up to .263 – still well below the Roosevelt alumna’s standard.

“It was more of a mental struggle,” Nakamura said, rather than mechanical. “I do want to thank the coaches because I’m not going to lie, at certain points there were times I had little to no confidence in myself. I was going to tell Coach Bob, for the betterment of the team … don’t be afraid to put somebody in who might produce. But the coaches kept giving me those opportunities to start producing. I failed in many of those opportunities but even when I didn’t see anything in myself, they saw something.”

First baseman Dallas Millwood led UH in batting in nonconference play with a .340 average, followed closely by Haley Johnson's .339. Utility players Mya'Liah Bethea and Chloe Borges lead the team with five home runs apiece.

UCSB (6-15) could provide a manageable first road test before UH hosts CSUN for its first home series next Friday and Saturday.

Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.