The Hawai'i softball team believes the way to snap a hitting slump is to slap out of it.

To that end, many of the Rainbow Wahine will use the slap technique in today's game against Utah State. First pitch is at 6 p.m. The Western Athletic Conference teams meet in a 2 p.m. doubleheader tomorrow.

"We're going with the slap only to get their timing down so they connect with the rhythm of the pitcher," UH coach Bob Coolen said.

In the slap technique, the hitter points the bat toward the pitcher. As the pitcher draws back her arm for the windup, the hitter simultaneously pulls back the bat.

The method, Coolen said, "will help hitters get better timing and not be so anxious."

The Rainbows found success with the technique near the end of last season.

The Rainbows are 5-4 in the WAC this season after winning two of three road games against Fresno State last week. It was the first time they won a series in Fresno in the program's history.

"It remains to be seen if we can carry the momentum out of last weekend and gain the confidence we need as a team for our hitting to become contagious," Coolen said. "We need to start hitting."

The Warriors are hitting .211 in nine WAC games. All-America third baseman Clare Warwick is hitting .138 in league games; leadoff hitter Tanisha Milca is batting .216.

"We're getting the timely hits to get enough runs," Coolen said. "I just wish it would transcend 1 through 9 (in the lineup), and not just a sporadic one at the top, one in the middle."

Too often, Coolen said, the Rainbows' best work is left in the batting cage.

"Then all of a sudden the mental aspect takes over in a game, and they don't see the ball as acutely as they do in practice, where they're relaxed," Coolen said. In practice, the pitch appears to be "more of a grapefruit than a pea."

Coolen said he is prepared to platoon catchers Stacey Yamada and Katie Grimes. Grimes, who was the WAC Freshman of the Year in 2007, struggled in the first game against Fresno State. Yamada started the next two games, including one that went 16 innings.

But Coolen said Utah State has speedy baserunners, and "we have to have a strong arm behind the plate. Katie has the strongest arm."

Coolen said right-handed pitcher Stephanie Ricketts will start tonight and tomorrow's third game. Courtney Baughman, who has recovered from arm problems, will start the opener of the doubleheader.

Blog: http://warriorbeat.honadvbogs.com.