HONOLULU — It was only a moment, but the look on Maya Nakamura’s face said everything.

A tearful Nakamura stood in front of the Hawaii dugout, put her hands together, and bowed slightly toward the field where she excelled and the fans in front of whom she’d performed for the last five years.

The injured Rainbow Wahine captain’s brief fifth-inning appearance at first base drew applause from all corners of Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium, including Cal State Fullerton players and staff.

First-place Fullerton otherwise owned the day in a 4-0, 8-0 doubleheader sweep of UH on its final home date of 2024 on Saturday. 

The Titans won the nightcap via the mercy rule in the sixth inning.

[Note: See below for more photos of senior night.]

Coach Bob Coolen got all nine seniors into the game in the late innings. Nakamura and reserves Piper Neri, Chloee Agueda and McKenna Kostyzyn joined starters Xiao Gin, Dallas Millwood, Mya’Liah Bethea, Haley Johnson and Ka’ena Keliinoi.

Nakamura greeted teammates in the circle and remained in for a single scripted pitch, thrown well off the plate.

“She willed that to happen because she’s been working so hard,” Coolen said of Nakamura, who injured her knee covering first base against Cal Poly last month. “She could’ve disappeared, stepped away from the team, took care of herself. But she was around us. She was in the weight room, she was at practices, she was encouraging the girls, giving speeches after we gave speeches as coaches. The players wanted to hear her more than us.”

Friday night’s walk-off, 10-inning victory over the Titans proved to be the emotional high point of the weekend for UH (20-23, 13-9 BWC). CSUF (34-16, 20-4) was in control from the outset Saturday to set up a showdown series with Long Beach State (24-27, 19-5) on the final regular-season weekend.

Coolen was fretting about how he’d get his largest senior class on the field. It included a few COVID-19 fifth-year players.

“I didn’t know how the game was going to go, if we were going to be competitive or non-competitive,” he said. “Some senior games, you go, how am I going to get people in there? But then it unfolded the way it did. To get them all out there … in front of their families, that was my goal.”

Despite the score, the senior day celebration was a lively affair.

“It was so surreal just seeing how many people love us,” said Millwood, the Kamehameha alumna from Mililani who plans to join Rich Hill’s UH baseball staff as a graduate assistant next year. “There’s so many people here to support us. My family, my friends.”

Nakamura, a Roosevelt alumna and three-time All-Big West honoree, will be one of the best second basemen in program history.

She is within a few weeks of surgery but is already beginning to walk around without crutches. She is considering remaining with UH as a graduate manager for next season, after which she plans to go into teaching.

“I’m very fortunate and privileged  … and lucky to have this opportunity to play here, in front of family and friends and having that opportunity to stay home,” Nakamura said this week. “A lot of girls nowadays want to leave the islands … but to be here, I’m just so lucky, so fortunate. My heart is full.”

Keliinoi, a Waianae native and a member of Saint Francis School’s final high school graduating class, adapted to a number of positions over her five years at UH – catcher, outfield, and most recently, third base.

“Everyone has a role on this team and for us just to all collectively come together as one team has been great memories,” Keliinoi said. “Over the past five years, I’ve got to meet so many great people and so many people that come from different places. To be able to represent Hawaii across my chest – as a little girl I always strived for that.”

Fourth-place UH can finish as high as third with one week left, a series at UC Davis (18-29, 9-15) starting Friday.

Hawaii left fielder Mya’Liah Bethea connected on a pitch. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Senior Ka‘ena Keliinoi reacted toward the UH dugout after being hit by a pitch. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Senior Chloee Agueda took her first at-bat of the season. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

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Senior McKenna Kostyszyn threw the final 1 1/3 innings on senior night. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Senior Piper Neri made a catch in left field. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Seniors Ka‘ena Keliinoi and Dallas Millwood greeted Maya Nakamura in the pitching circle. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

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

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Officials with the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park have reopened all park areas, including the Chain of Craters Road, on Saturday morning after a spike in quakes at Kilauea.

Officials reopened the road as of 11 a.m. Saturday morning.

This is after seismic activity within Kilauea dropped significantly over an 8-hour period.

Scientists and park staff recorded thousands of earthquakes over the last week, but say the pulse of unrest has ended and seismic levels are back to a normal range.

This story may be updated.

Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

For tourists using Instagram to guide their travels, a sojourn for one last shot at visiting the famous Ha’iku Stairs in Oahu could come with a hefty price. The days are numbered for Honolulu’s famous selfie spot, and CNN reports that tourists are flocking there hoping to grab a glimpse of the island from its heights before the stairs are dismantled. The problem is that the hike—nicknamed “Stairway to Heaven”—is illegal and passes through private property in sections. At least five people were arrested for first-degree trespassing last month and lots more received warnings or lesser charges.

“The city was disappointed and dismayed to learn that so many individuals appear to have recklessly disregarded clear warnings that the project to dismantle the Ha’iku Stairs has begun, putting themselves—and, potentially, first responders—in harm’s way,” said a spokeswoman for the city of Honolulu. The Washington Post notes that rescues from the trail—the 3,922 stairs rise to 2,800 feet above sea level—have been unfortunately frequent. Between 2010 and October 2022, authorities rescued more than 100 people, per KHON, and just this September, a woman and her dog had to be airlifted out by helicopter after falling 50 feet.

The Ha’iku Stairs were built by the US Navy during World War II, but were officially closed in 1987. Honolulu’s city council voted in 2021 to remove the steps, which attract an estimated 4,000 visitors each year. The council specifically cited social media for enticing people to make the trip, not only in sharing tips on how to get there but with the virality of “panoramic pictures that have encouraged people from around the world to take the hike.” Removal has hit snags but is expected to get going in earnest following an evidentiary hearing on May 10, reports Hawaii News Now. (A town in Japan made a ‘regrettable’ move in regard to Mount Fuji.)