As it turned out for the University of Hawai'i softball team, earning an invitation to the NCAA Tournament was the easy part.

The more difficult phase is getting there.

The Rainbow Wahine leave today for Tem-pe, Ariz., a 14-hour trek that includes two airplane flights and a six-hour bus ride.

"It was the only way for us to get there," UH coach Bob Coolen said of the Arizona State-hosted Regional.

Although the NCAA provides a subsidy and travel agent, there were few options on such short notice.

The Rainbows received their invitation Sunday afternoon. The Regionals begin Friday.

There were no available flights to Phoenix, an hour's drive from Tempe. That left the Rainbows with two unattractive options. They could fly to San Francisco, where they would stay overnight, then go to Phoenix the next day in two small planes. Or they could go from San Francisco to Los Angeles, where they would have a six-hour layover.

Coolen chose an off-the-menu option.

"Why would I want to sit in an airport for six hours?" Coolen told the travel agent. "Why don't I take a bus (from Los Angeles to Tempe)?"

He added: "That's the way it all unfolded. They could get us to L.A., but then we would be stranded. Going by bus is the best option. Instead of sitting in an airport, they can get their sleep on the bus."

Coolen said the Rainbows now will arrive in Tempe early tomorrow. They plan to have a light practice tomorrow afternoon, and a full practice Thursday.

But the travel itinerary still forced the Rainbows to scramble. This is final-exam week. What's more, the players must check out of dormitories and campus apartments.

"It's been kind of rough," said right fielder Tanisha Milca, who has two tests today. She also is taking a final on the road.

Pitcher/first baseman Kate Robinson had two tests yesterday and another today.

"Then I have to rush to the airport," Robinson said. "Plus, we have to move out of our apartment. We're not going to complain. This is what we want."

BAUGHMAN STILL HURTING

Courtney Baughman said she has been told she will not pitch again this season.

Baughman was hospitalized for two days last week with what she described as a nerve problem in her right shoulder.

Baughman, a right-hander, said she began "feeling discomfort" in her pitcher shoulder May 1, two days before the start of the final regular-season series.

She struggled against Utah State, relinquishing seven hits and a walk to the 16 batters she faced.

"Basically, something is pinching my vein or something," Baughman said.

She said her arm was a "little numb" initially.

Now, she said, there is "more discomfort and swelling" than pain.

This season, Baughman stepped in for All-America pitcher Justine Smethurst, who opted to remain in Australia this semester to train with her national team. Smethurst has been awarded a spot on Australia's Olympic roster.

Baughman, who has started 22 games, is 14-8 with a 2.04 earned-run average. She is on the postseason roster, and will travel to Tempe.

"It's so exciting we made it," Baughman said. "It's quite an accomplishment for our conference. I hope we do well. I'm glad I can go and be a part of it."

Without Baughman, the Rainbows have only one true starting pitcher: Robinson.

Freshman Melissa "Me-G" Gonzalez is too inexperienced, and Jessica Morton is more comfortable as a reliever.

Robinson started each of the Rainbows' four games in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.

"I'll do what I can to help the team," she said.

DOWN TO 'NITTY GRITTY'

While their teammates fretted, catcher Katie Grimes, third baseman Clare Warwick and infielder Julie Franklin were confident Hawai'i would receive an NCAA at-large berth Sunday.

It appeared bleak after the Rainbows lost to Nevada, 2-1, in last Friday's semifinals of the WAC Tournament.

Fourth-seeded Louisiana Tech won the tournament and the accompanying automatic NCAA berth. Regular-season champion Nevada and runner-up Fresno State were in line for at-large berths. The NCAA had never allotted four tournament berths to WAC teams.

But Franklin, Grimes and Warwick went online, logging on to the Nitty Gritty site, which offers reliable power ratings.

"We did some calculations," Franklin said.

Of the at-large candidates, they discovered, the Rainbows had one of the strongest cases. The Rainbows had played 13 games against non-WAC teams that made the NCAA Regionals.

"We came up with a 64(-team field)," Grimes said. "It was kind of conservative. We looked at all of the teams. We counted everything up. We looked at the (Ratings Percentage Index)."

They shared their information with teammates, who could not shake their doubts.

When the team gathered to watch Sunday's selection show, Robinson recalled, "we walked in there hoping for the best but being prepared that our season was done."

As the telecast progressed, Robinson said: "I kept looking at Julie. She said, 'I figured it out mathematically. We're going.' She kept saying, 'Just wait.' I kept looking at her, and (UH) showed up (on the television screen). We just started screaming."

Center fielder Kaulana Gould said she is glad the season did not end last Friday.

"I felt we needed a second chance to redeem ourselves," she said. "We needed to finish what we started. We wanted a better ending than last Friday. We're getting one."

Robinson said the regionals will be "a bigger stage. But this is what we practice for. This is why we play softball. I'm sure all of us are going to be up to the task."