When Hawaii landed in Birmingham, Ala., Tuesday on its way to an NCAA softball super regional against top seed Alabama, they already had traveled roughly 7,500 miles since the end of the regular season.
Now in their third week on the road, the days are beginning to run together for the No. 16 seed Rainbows (47-13) and third baseman Melissa Gonzalez. "We took a plane off the island," Gonzalez says. Since then "it's been a lot of driving from airports to hotels to fields."
From Hawaii to California to Texas to New Mexico back to Texas to California and now Alabama, the Rainbows have taken the miles in stride.
"We get a lot of rest and we make sure to get a good workout and stretch," Gonzalez says.
The physical strain hasn't been lost on coach Bob Coolen. "We really try to keep a sense of normalcy," he says. "It's something we work on diligently."
But travel isn't the only thing in excess for Hawaii.
The Rainbows have hit an NCAA Division I-record 149 home runs, eight of them as they swept three games last weekend in an NCAA regional at Stanford.
Gonzalez, who has accounted for 25 home runs, offers a simple answer for Hawaii's proficiency at the plate.
"We're seeing the ball," she says.
Five players have more than 50 RBI, six are batting better than .300 and the Rainbows lead Division I in scoring (7.8 runs a game) and slugging percentage (.661).
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