The Hawaii softball team must fight its way through the rest of the Big West season without its all-around best player and team leader.

Senior Maya Nakamura is out for the rest of her college career with an injury, the first-team all-league second baseman confirmed on her Instagram account on Thursday night.

The Roosevelt High alumna from Honolulu was hurt on a non-contact play in the second game of a weather-impacted doubleheader against Cal Poly last weekend. After attempting to cover first base, she exited and later appeared near the Hawaii dugout on crutches with a knee wrapped.

“I’ve realized it’s simply part of life. You may find yourself doing everything right and sometimes it’s just out of your control,” Nakamura wrote in part. “A career ending injury sucks to say the least, but it’s given me the opportunity to realize the immense love and support from those around me whether it be coaches, teammates, friends, family, mentors and even strangers. I am truly grateful. This has given me the opportunity to not focus my attention on what could have been, but really appreciate and celebrate all that was accomplished thus far.”

Nakamura entered Friday in the top 10 among Big West players in numerous categories. She was tied for the team lead in home runs with seven. She was batting .312 with an on-base percentage of .424, and had 20 RBIs and a team-high 22 runs scored. In Big West games, she was even better with a .450 batting average and OBP of .577.

She was an All-Big West first-teamer in 2023 and made the second team the two years prior.

In its first games without Nakamura, UH split a doubleheader at UC Riverside on Friday, with both teams coming from behind in the late innings. UH rallied for an 8-5 victory in the first game, only to squander a five-run first-inning lead – including Chloe Borges’ first career grand slam – in a 7-5 loss in Game 2.

Freshman Madixx Muramoto, who filled in for Nakamura after she exited in the Cal Poly game, got the start at second base in the first game Friday but was lifted after one at-bat. Ka‘ena Keliinoi got the start at second in Game 2 and Muramoto came in off the bench, recording a hit.

Left fielder Mya’Liah Bethea launched two home runs in the first game, her Big West-leading eighth and ninth of the season. Addison Kostrencich (8-6) went the distance for the win on an eight-hitter.

UCR got to Key’annah Campbell-Pua (4-7) for five runs in the fourth inning of Game 2.

The two-way player Borges went 3-for-7 with seven RBIs on the day and also threw 1 1/3 innings of relief.

UH (14-19, 7-5 BWC) remained in fourth place with the series finale against UCR (12-22, 6-8) scheduled for 10 a.m. Hawaii time at Amy S. Harrison Field in Riverside, California.

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