HONOLULU — With some well-timed swings, Milan Ah Yat has proven herself capable of manufacturing runs and memories at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium at multiple levels.

Ah Yat, who as a high school senior had the go-ahead grand slam over the left-field wall at RWSS for Pac-Five in the 2023 HHSAA Division II championship against Waimea, has been highly productive player in the home dugout, too.

Just across Lower Campus Road from where her father, Paul Ah Yat, plied his trade as a pitcher in the mid-1990s, the Rainbow Wahine sophomore shortstop has emerged as a difference-maker in a transformed infield and lineup.

What You Need To Know

  • The Hawaii softball team opens up Big West play against Long Beach State in a three-game series at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium starting 6 p.m. Friday

  • UH (14-8) will attempt to place in the top six of the 10-team Big West to advance to the inaugural Big West tournament at Cal State Fullerton from May 7 to 10

  • The Rainbow Wahine have been led in multiple offensive catogories by sophomore shortstop Milan Ah Yat, a transfer from Loyola Marymount who attended University Lab School and played for Pac-Five

  • Ah Yat is the daughter of former UH pitcher Paul Ah Yat, who played for Les Murakami in the mid-1990s

“It feels like it was just yesterday,” Milan Ah Yat said recently of the state championship game, in which the soon-to-be Hawaii High School Hall of Honor inductee had seven RBIs in a 13-12 win. “I still watch the video sometimes just to reminisce and kind of just think back to that moment and how I was feeling and preparing myself for the games coming up. So when I step into the box … I think about how focused I was and just getting that hit and being very happy.”

As UH (14-8) prepares to host Long Beach State (9-8) in the teams’ opening Big West series, Ah Yat is the reigning Big West Field Player of the Week after she hit safely in all six Wahine games of the Outrigger Invitational. UH leads all Big West teams in wins, although annual contender Cal State Fullerton has an RPI of 33 to UH’s 93 and LBSU’s 105.

UH will attempt to place in the top six of 10 teams to advance to the first Big West softball tournament long awaited by Bob Coolen, the 34-year head coach who will retire after this season. The league’s automatic NCAA Tournament berth will be decided at CSU Fullerton May 7 to 10.

Previously, the regular season decided the league champ. UH has not been to the postseason since its return year to the Big West in 2013.

The Wahine are set to meet the Beach at 6 p.m. Friday and play a doubleheader Saturday at 2 and 4 p.m.

Ah Yat already has two walk-off hits this season — a two-run homer against Utah Tech to end the Spring Fling tournament on Feb. 16 and a run-scoring single against Howard to trigger the eight-run mercy rule in the Outrigger.

Milan Ah Yat hit a single against Washington in the Outrigger Invitational last week. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

She leads the team in batting average (.368), has four doubles, four home runs and is tied with first baseman Jamie McGaughey for the team lead in RBIs with 15.

Ah Yat went to play at Loyola Marymount after graduation from University Lab School and made nine starts as a Lions freshman but was one of four local players to come home in the offseason, along with Liliana Thomas (Maryknoll/Arizona State, LMU), Carys Murakami (Maryknoll, CSUN) and Teiah Keliiholokai (Campbell/Abilene Christian).

“I'm glad they came back, because they filled three voids for me in the infield,” Coolen said recently. “We knew we were going to play Jamie somewhere at third or first, and Lil’s done a nice job at third, Milan has just taken over for Xiao Jin at short, and Carys came in and took over (at second base) for Maya Nakamura, and then Madixx (Muramoto), who left the program. So it's been real nice to see three of them contribute, move around the lineup, do things well for us, and they've bought in 100% into the program.”

Paul Ah Yat tossed three shutouts from 1994 to 1996. He led the Rainbows in wins in 1996 with 10 and was taken in the 21st round of the 1996 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

He has offered continuous support on Milan’s softball journey, she said, and given pointers like keeping her head down, quickening her hop on incoming balls at short, and refining her contact point on her swing.

“I'm definitely still very close to him,” Milan Ah Yat said. “In the beginning, it was mainly a coach and player type of role, and now he's kind of stepped into more of a fatherly role in that way. And he still gives me tips and coaches me throughout the season, but he took a little step back, and he's been there for me off the field and throughout everything else. And I really, I really love him for that.”

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