(photo of Valerie Alvardo courtesy of Jeff Evans of WWU)
(QUOTES ADDED FROM HEAD COACH PERRIERA AND PITCHER ALVARADO)

IRVINE, Calif.--UH Hilo's Vevesi Liilii hit a two-run home run in the first inning and Valerie Alvarado kept the Western Washington bats mostly silent as the Vulcans upset the Vikings in the opening game of the NCAA Division II West Region Softball tournament at Eagle Field, 3-0.

UH Hilo now advances to play in the winner's bracket on Thursday, against No. 1 seed and host Concordia (11:30 am PT). The No. 5 seed Vulcans improved to 18-11 on the season while the No. 4 Vikings fell to 23-13. Western Washington will play again later today in a elimination game against the loser of the Northwest Nazarene-Central Washington contest.

"It was an exciting game," said Vulcan head coach Callen Perreira. "Vevesi's 2-run home run set the tone for the game early and Valerie had a great game in the pitching circle."

The Vulcans sent WWU ace Anna Kasner to the showers early with Liilii's home run, four total hits and three runs. Kasner, recently crowned the NCAA West Region Pitcher of the Year, had her second shortest outing of the season and came out without getting an out in the third inning.

It all began in the first inning when Darian Obara walked. Liilii then blasted a Kasner offering deep over the left-centerfield fence to give UHH a 2-0 lead before the Vikings came to bat. The Vulcans would add another run in the third when Obara singled and Liilii walked, which was followed by a Markie Okamoto bunt that was thrown away to bring in a third run. Kasner left the game, and Kira Dorn was able to come in and put out the Vulcan fire.

Meanwhile, Alvarado was able to work in and out of minor trouble in each inning. The Vikings had runners on base in every inning, but the senior hurler never allowed more than one hit in any of the stanzas until the seventh inning when WWU had a pair of base hits to put runners on second and third with one out. But Alvarado was able to induce a fly out and a ground out to end the game and give the Vulcans the victory.

Alvarado pitched the shutout despite allowing eight hits and a walk. She fanned two batters and improved to 6-4 on the season. Kasner fell to 13-4.

Obara and Okamoto had two hits each for UH Hilo, as did Skylar Thomas. Mackenzie Palmer and Lauren Lo had two base knocks for the Vikings, with Lo's two hits both being two-baggers. 

The Vulcans will play the Eagles at 11:30 am, and if they win they won't play again until Friday. If they lose, they will play the 5 pm elimination game on Thursday.

"We played with a lot of heart," Perreira added. "Valerie hit her spots and the few times that she did in trouble she was able to work out of it. Our defense was a big help as always, they have been stellar all year."

Alvarado agreed.

"It was a big game for us, we wanted to show that even as a lower seed we belong here," the senior righthander said. "I always have great confidence in my defense, they back me up always."