Vulcans Sweep Sharks, Host Silverswords
 
Hawai`i Hilo 28-15 overall/21-9 PacWest Conference
Saturday, April 20 vs. Chaminade (11-33 overall / 8-24 PWC), Noon DH, UHH Softball Field
Live Stats available at hiloathletics.com
 
Hilo Headlines: Hawai`i Hilo won three of four games last weekend at their home-away-from-home (Kealakehe HS) from Academy of Art, improving to 28-15 overall and to 21-9 in the PacWest. The Vulcans won the first three games in fairly convincing fashion at 10-1, 9-3 and 5-1 before the Urban Knights rallied to salvage the final game of the series, 9-0.
 
Post-Season Push: The first official NCAA Division II West Region Rankings came out on Wednesday, and the Vulcans sit in the ninth spot with two more ratings to be released. In the final listings, the top eight teams will qualify. Additionally, the conference champions from the PacWest, Great Northwest Athletic Conference and the California Collegiate Athletic Association make the cut (they are usually within that top eight, but not always). Both the GNAC and CCAA have conference tournaments to determine their automatic berth into the NCAA tournament, while the PacWest used their regular season champion as the auto-qualifier.
 
Top Ten: Here is the first listing, with records from last weekend. (1) UC San Diego, (2) Concordia-Irvine 33-6, (3) Chico State 26-12, (4) San Francisco State 29-15, (5) Azusa Pacific 26-14, (6) Sonoma State 26-14, (7) Central Washington 23-12, (8) Western Oregon 22-13, (9) Hawai`i Hilo 28-15, (10) Western Washington 22-12.
 
Comparing Apples to Oranges: The ratings come into place using a combination of an RPI-like system, comparative scores and committee input. Against team on the list, the Vulcans are 1-3 versus Concordia (but lost all three on the final play of the game), lost to Chico State (3-2), lost to San Francisco State (7-3), defeated Azusa Pacific three of four games, defeated Sonoma State (7-3), and lost to Central Washington (3-1).
 
Climbing the Ladder: The Vulcans fell into third place in the Pacific West Conference standings, just one-half game behind Azusa Pacific, who has won nine in a row (and defeated No. 1 UC San Diego twice last week). Concordia is still in first place (25-3), with the Cougars next (21-8), followed by UH Hilo (21-9) and Hawai`i Pacific in fourth (22-12).
 
What's Next: After the Chaminade games, the Vulcans and Silverswords will swap venues and play on Oahu next weekend (April 27). The Vulcans will then wrap up the regular season the following day (Sunday) to take on Hawai`i Pacific in two games. After that, the Vulcans will sit back and follow the CCAA and GNAC tournaments, and ultimately the final NCAA rating.
 
Senior Salute: Saturday's games vs. Chaminade will be the final home games for Vulcan seniors Maria Steadmon, Kayla Requelman, Isabelle Mejia and Danielle Antolin. That group will be honored after the doubleheader at the field, followed by a reception for friends, family and teammates in the Vulcan courtyard.
 
Stack of Certificates: Vulcan senior Isabelle Mejia picked up her third Pacific West Conference Player of the Week award, this time for her weekend in the pitcher's circle. She picked up two wins against Academy of Art to improve to 11-2 on the year, throwing a total of 12 innings and allowing just one earned run. She struck out 12 Urban Knight batters and walked just two. She has also won Player of the Week honors for her offensive work, and previously capture one other PacWest Pitcher of the Week honor.
 
Pitching Progress: Mejia added luster to her pitching numbers for the season, now with the 11-2 record and 2.64 ERA. She has given up just 71 hits in 90 innings pitched, and has struck out 61. Opponents are hitting just .220 against her. Valerie Alvarado improved to 8-5 with a win over ART U and has an ERA of 3.28. Billi Derleth is 3-3 with a 2.07 ERA and reliever Leah Gonzales is 6-5 with a 1.89 ERA.
 
Hitter's Headlines: UH Hilo's batting average is now .290, and the Vulcans lead the PacWest in home runs (30) and  walks (178). They are second in sacrifice bunts (42). Shortstop Kiarra Lincoln raised her batting average to .333 in the ART U series, and the sophomore also leads the Vulcans in runs scored (34), RBI (32) and is tied for the lead in home runs (5) with Skylar Thomas. Rayla Jacobs-Kea is next at .327 and paces the team with a dozen stolen bases (12for-12). Maria Steadmon is batting .314 and has stuck out just seven times all year (121 at-bats). Isabelle Mejia is over .300 (.308) with a team-best 11 doubles and 30 RBI, while Vevesi Liilii has the same average (.308). Brinell Kaleikini (.288) leads the team in walks (30) and has the best on-base percentage for UHH at .452.
 
National Notice: The top teams from the west in the latest national rankings are UC San Diego (10), Concordia (14) and Chico State (25). Colorado Mesa, whom the Vulcans defeated earlier this year, is 12^th.
 
Chaminade Clippings: The Silverswords began the year in positive fashion, busting out to an 8-6 mark to begin the season. They had a four-game sweep of Notre Dame de Namur to their credit and a split with Dominican in four contests. After that, they spun into a 17-game skid that ended last week with a win over Academy of Art. Madelyn Stockslager leads the pitching crew, having fanned 97 batters in 155 innings, and she sports a 2.52 ERA. Rainelle Matysuoka (.313) and Alexis Velaquez (.311) lead the hitters. In the long series history between the two teams, the Vulcans lead 145-32.
 
Last Year: The Vulcans went 31-15 overall and were 19-9 in the PacWest (fifth place). They just missed out of 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 and a UHH-best 54 RBI and was named a Second-Team All-American.
 
Storied Program: In 32 years of Vulcan softball, UH Hilo has had 30 winning seasons, including 2019 (which they have already clinched a winning campaign). 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 11 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 661-397-3 (through Academy of Art games). Including four seasons at College of Southern Nevada, his collegiate mark is 797-501-3. 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.