HONOLULU – Hawai'i powered past Santa Clara softball 7-2 with three home runs and Addison Kostrencich picked up a complete game win in the season opener at the Bank of Hawai'i Paradise Classic on Thursday night. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Kayara Tuiloma hit the go-ahead solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to break a 2-all tie and Kostrencich allowed just two runs over seven innings to give Hawai'i (1-0) a season opening victory. 
• Three of the first four runs scored by Hawai'i came on solo home runs - Liliana Thomas in the first, Tuiloma in the fifth and Jamie McGaughey in the sixth.  
• In the top of the second with Santa Clara (0-1) trailing by a run, Ewa Beach native Cairah Curran drove in a pair of runs with a double in her homecoming to give the Broncos a 2-1 lead.  Those were the only runs allowed by Kostrencich who scattered six hits and walked three over seven frames.  She struck out four.  
• The Rainbow Wahine knotted the game up at 2-all on Alyssa Nakagawa's RBI grounder in the home half of the second.  
• Hannah Edwards pitched out of an one out, bases loaded jam in the fourth by inducing Carys Murakami to an inning ending 4-3 double play to keep it a tie ball game.  But she gave up the go-ahead home run to Tuiloma in the fifth.  
• Edwards was saddled with the loss, giving up three runs, all earned, on five hits and three walks over 4 2/3 innings. 
• UH broke the game open in the sixth, touching up Broncos reliever Avery Seva with four runs.  McGaughey's lead off home run made it 4-2 and they tacked on two more on Murakami's ground-rule double and an RBI single by Tuiloma.    
• The Broncos left nine runners on base, stranding at least one runner in six of the seven innings.  They finished 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.  

NOTES:

• Three Bronco newcomers saw action - Hope Alley, Kendal Mandy and Audrey Graham.  
• Alley, a graduate transfer from Cal, made her Bronco debut batting third and starting in left field.  She went 1-for-3.   
• Manley who transferred from Sierra College, also saw her first action in a Santa Clara uniform coming in to pinch hit in the sixth inning.  
• Freshman Graham came into pinch hit in the sixth.  

NEXT UP:

• Santa Clara plays a pair of games on the second day of the Paradise Classic on Friday.  They face Saint Louis at 2 p.m. and Southern Indiana at 4:30 p.m. PT.