Before Saturday's Pacific West Conference softball game against University of Hawai'i-Hilo, Hawai'i Pacific will formally change the name of its home to Howard A. Okita Field.

Okita created it, brought it to prominence along with Sea Warrior softball and tends the meticulously groomed field with the magical view of the Ko'olaus practically every day with friend Richard Nomura. The dedication is a formality in name only, much as Okita's resignation as co-head coach the end of the year changed little.

Okita built "his" field and this team. To think of it by any other name would just feel wrong. He even has a rake in his hand in his picture in the media guide.

"It's the best field you could ever play on," said Krystal Plunkett, who is hitting .468 and is one of four key seniors. "The bounces are true and everything is really nice about it. We don't really like the field because we have to run on it all the time, but it's really beautiful. It's like heaven almost, because you just see the mountains."

Courtney Kessell, last season's PacWest Pitcher of the Year, allows that Okita's passion for his field can border on obsession.

"If we're having batting practice and the outfielders are standing on the grass he says, 'Hey, move around so you don't make holes out there,' " said Kessel, 15-5 this season. "He loves his field definitely. We've got to love him for it because of all he's done for us."

Okita, 73, is among the legends in Hawai'i softball. He has been around the game in some form since 1963. Born and raised in Kailua, he started coaching Kailua High School in 1978 and won six state championships with the Surfriders.

Hawai'i Loa named Okita its coach practically the day it announced the birth of its program in 1987. Two years later, Okita resigned from Kailua, with a record of 181-24, to devote himself fulltime to the college game. By 1991, he had won an NAIA national championship.

He joined HPU when the schools merged and had been head coach since 1994, sharing the title with Bryan Nakasone since 2002. Craving time to see his granddaughter play at East Carolina, Okita stepped down to assistant in December. His head coaching record was 508-214-3, with 11 postseason appearances.

Not that anyone at HPU notices a change, including Nakasone, Okita and the players. The Sea Warriors (33-9) are ranked 11th in NCAA Division II and coming off a statement-making performance at last weekend's 20-team Mizuno Tournament of Champions in California. HPU won its last four games to capture the title; Plunkett and junior pitcher Sherise Musquiz were all-tournament.

"Ever since we've been coaching together he has allowed me to take over the offense and defense," Nakasone said. "I call all the signs. He takes care of the pitchers and administrative side, which is a headache."

Never more so than last year. HPU had the best record in the country (43-5-1), but was not chosen for postseason. The Sea Warriors, like this year, came into the Mizuno tournament No. 2 in the West Region. When they left, after three one-run losses, they were eighth. They won the rest of their games, all against Hawai'i opponents, and dropped like a rock in the rankings .

"We were 43-5," Okita recalled, "and they said we didn't beat anybody."

This season, HPU blew by the best Mainland competition at Mizuno, and the PacWest now has full conference privileges — and the automatic postseason bid that goes with them. The Sea Warriors are 15-3 in conference and need to win four of their final six to clinch a title and regional ticket. They hope to host at Howard A. Okita Field the second weekend in May — some 15 years after Okita got the field created with a lot of help from his friends.

It took two years, $10,000 and hundreds of volunteer hours and donations to come to fruition. A mountain was bulldozed and a gully filled in. The field was constructed above ground level to let the area's relentless rain drain. A former player (Ronda Chun) got the concrete slabs for dugouts donated and helped pour them. More than 200 Norfolk pines were planted. Okita's friends welded and roofed.

"As far as a spectator's point of view, they sit on the hillside and they love it," Nakasone said. "Every Mainland school that comes adores our field."

Players picked up rocks and weeded to finish their beloved field 15 years ago. Still do.

Before and after, the Sea Warriors take out the competition. Plunkett and irrepressible freshman Maile Kim have been hitting close to .500. On the mound, Kessel and Musquiz (16-4) have a combined ERA of 1.68.

The players from last year are still "hurt and pretty mad," according to Kessel, who felt especially bad that the 2008 seniors did not get a postseason she believed they deserved.

"Winning the conference is our main focus now," she said. "Another main focus is to prove to everybody that, 'You know what, we should have been there last year.

"Softball is a mental game. No matter what, you have to be prepared and know you are better than the other team. You are supposed to go out feeling you are better than the other team. That's what we've been doing."

For Okita, it starts from the ground up. He enjoys being around the sport as much now as he did some 45 years ago.

"You've got to love what you're doing," he said. "The reward today is seeing these kids getting a degree and getting on with their life."