Vulcans Make Hay at Home, Hit Road for Crucial Games
 
Hawai`i Hilo 16-4 overall/11-1 PacWest Conference                         
Tues-Wed, March 19-20 @Biola (9-9/4-4 PWC), 4 pm DH's, La Mirada, Calif.
Fri.-Sat., March 22-23 @Azusa Pacific (7-9/4-4 PWC), 4/6 & 12/2 DH's, Azusa, Calif.
Mon-Tues., March 25-26 @Concordia (19-3/8-2 PWC), 2/4 DH's, Irvine, Calif.
Live Stats available at hiloathletics.com
 
Hilo Headlines: After nearly a month off, the Vulcans got back to work at home last week by winning 11 of 12 games against Notre Dame de Namur, Holy Names and Dominican to open Pacific West Conference play at 11-1. Now comes a super big test in southern California as the Vulcans take on Biola, Azusa Pacific and No. 1 nationally ranked Concordia.
 
Home(s) Cooking: The Vulcans played 12 games in 10 days—eight contests in Hilo and four at their home away from home—Kealakehe High School on the Kona side of the Big Island. Wet weather/field forced the move for the entire series with Dominican. Counting last season, the Vulcans are now 8-0 at their home away from home in Kailua-Kona.
 
To Be the Best, You Have to Beat the Best: Over the course of the next week, the Vulcans will play the three teams predicted to finish above them in the Pacific West Conference standings in No. 1 Concordia, Azusa Pacific and Biola (the Vulcans were picked to finish fourth). Additionally, UH Hilo will then travel to Turlock, Calif. to play in the annual Tournament of Championships, featuring many of the top teams in the NCAA West Region.
 
Everything In Between: In winning 11 of 12 games at home, the Vulcans had close games and blowouts in equal distribution. They had 1-0, 2-0 and 2-1 victories against each of the three opponents, and they had 10-2, 12-2 and 8-0 mercy rule wins. Their lone loss came in the second contest of the Holy Names series (10-6).
 
PacWest Pitcher of the Week: Vulcan senior pitcher Isabelle Mejia picked up four wins in the pitching circle and also earned Pacific West Conference Pitcher of the Week honors for her work in the Notre Dame de Namur and Holy Names series. The Arcadia, Calif. native went 4-0, pitching a total of 25 innings while allowing only one run and seven hits. She fanned 21 Notre Dame de Namur and Holy Names batters. In a 9-0 mercy rule win over the Argonauts, she threw a no-hitter and was just one walk and an error away from getting credit for a perfect game. 
 
Close to PacWest Pitcher of the Week: In the Dominican series, Vulcan junior Valerie Alvarado could just as easily won the same award. She shut out the Penguins twice, first in a seven-inning whitewash by allowing just five hits while fanning five. The next day, it was a six-inning gem with just four Penguins getting hits in the contest.
 
Pitching Progress: Isabelle Mejia and Valerie Alvarado greatly added luster to their season pitching numbers in the home games. Mejia is now 7-0 on the season with a 1.82 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .171 against her. Alvarado is now 4-2 with a 3.04 ERA. Mostly coming out of the bullpen, Leah Gonzales is also 4-2 with a 1.54 ERA.
 
Hitter's Headlines: Through 20 games, the Vulcans are hitting a robust .314 as a team with 18 home runs. Sophomore catcher Markie Okamoto is hitting .362 with a team-best three home runs and she also has 15 RBI. Senior outfielder Maria Steadmon is next at .354, followed by Kiarra Lincoln (.344). Lincoln, a sophomore shortstop, leads the Vulcans in runs scored (18) and RBI (17). Isabelle Mejia (.286) leads the club in doubles (6) and Rayla Jacobs-Kea adds 16 RBI and a .380 average in just 14 games played. She also leads the team in stolen bases (7-for-7).
 
National Notice: The Vulcans defeated Colorado Mesa earlier this year, then No. 22 in the NFCA poll and now at No. 17. Other west region teams in the It's-still-too-early-to-mean-much listing are is Concordia (1), Chico State (5), UC San Diego (13), and Cal State San Bernardino (20).
 
PacWest Prognosis: Concordia, behind PacWest Preseason Pitcher of the Year Callie Nunes, is the coach's pick to win the PacWest in 2019. Biola was listed second, Azusa Pacific third, and UH Hilo fourth. Last week, Hawaii Pacific stunned the conference with a split of four games with Concordia. All but three teams in the PacWest currently have winning records in conference play, although the number of games played is despaired. Academy of Art is 4-0, UHH 11-1, Concordia 8-2 and Hawaii Pacific 14-7 to round out the top four.
 
Charting the Opposition: The upcoming trip to Southern California will go a long ways towards determining the Vulcans post-season hopes. Biola is the opponent on the first leg (Tues-Wed.). They are a perfectly even 9-9 on the season and 4-4 in the PacWest—most recently winning three of four games with Hawaii Pacific. Kayla Neff and Paige Austin just won Player and Pitcher of the Week honors respectively, and Neff is hitting .407 on the year with five home runs. Austin is 4-4 in the pitching circle with a 1.04 ERA. In the first two-ever meetings between the Vulcans and Eagles last year, UH Hilo won both games in Kailua-Kona. Azusa Pacific is also 4-4 in the PacWest and is 7-9 overall heading into games with Chaminade before the Vulcans visit (March 22-23). The Cougars have a pair of losses on their slate to Concordia and have dropped one-run games to top ten teams Chico State and North Georgia. Cayla Broussard paces the squad with a .407 average and seven stolen bases, while Racqual Espinoza is the ace in the pitcher's circle with a 4-4 record and 3.45 ERA. Concordia climbed to the top of the NFCA NCAA Division II national ranking last week, but may fall out after splitting four games with the Sharks. Nonetheless, they won't drop far with a 19-3 record overall and an 8-2 record in PacWest play. PacWest Preseason Pitcher of the Year Callie Nunes has not fallen victim to the sophomore jinx, putting together a 14-2 record and a 0.80 ERA. She has only allowed 35 hits in 88 innings pitched and has struck out 105. What little offense they need after that is supplied by a team that is hitting .305. Amanda Gjertsen is hitting .375 with ten doubles and 24 RBI, and six players total are in double figure RBI numbers. The Eagles won two one-run games in Hilo last year, and Concordia leads the all-time series between the two teams, 6-5.
 
Last Year: The Vulcans went 31-15 overall and were 19-9 in the PacWest (fifth place). They just missed out on the NCAA Division II playoffs, unofficially, by a spot or two. Bailey Gaspar wrapped one of the great careers in Vulcan history with a school record 15 home runs, a UHH-best 54 RBI and was named a Second-Team All-American.
 
Storied Program: In 31 years of Vulcan softball, UH Hilo has had 29 winning seasons. The program began in 1988 and played in the NAIA until 1995. Records are sketchy, but the program has made at least seven playoff appearances, four of them in the NCAA. The Vulcans currently have a run of ten straight winning campaigns.
 
Coach Callen: Head coach Callen Perreira returned to the Vulcan bench in 2017, his second stint with the Vulcans. In 22 total seasons, his UH Hilo record is now 649-386-3 (through homestand). Including four seasons at College of Southern Nevada, his collegiate mark is 785-490-3. Prior to entering the collegiate coaching ranks, he was the head coach at Hilo High School from 1978-87, winning eight consecutive league titles and a state title.