Two Vulcan shortstops with local ties are this week's winners of the UH Hilo Pepsi Athletes of the Week award.

Basebal shortstop Casey Yamauchi played another key role in helping the Vulcans clinch the Hawaii Pod against Hawaii Pacific on Oahu. The Vulcans dropped the first game to the Sharks but bounced back to win on Saturday to secure their trip to southern California for this week's PacWest AQ Pod Series at Azusa Pacific. The former Waiakea High School standout went 3-for-8 in the two games, scoring three times, stealing a pair of bases and hitting a double. In Saturday's 6-4 win, he reached base three times with a pair of walks and a double. On the season, Yamauchi is hitting .362 and leads the Vulcans in runs scored (17), doubles (7), RBI (17) and stolen bases (12).

Vulcan shortstop Kiarra Lincoln had four solid games in helping lead the Vulcans through the PacWest AQ Pod Series and into the NCAA Division II West Region Championships this week in Irvine, Calif. At the Pod Series, hosted by Dominican, the former Kamehameha School standout went 6-for-14 with two runs scored, two doubles, a home run and three RBI. In the 4-0 win over the Penguins, she went 2-for-3 with an RBI as the Vulcans improved to 17-11 to secure their postseason berth. On the season, the three-time All-PacWest selection is batting .367 with a team-best 25 runs scored, 12 doubles and 14 RBI.