HILO, Hawai'i – Hawai'i Hilo Softball swept HPU, 6-3 and 3-0, on Friday afternoon in Pacific West Conference play to close out the regular season at the Vulcan Softball Field. Eight departing players were celebrated as part of Senior Night: Breli Agbayani-Shibao, Madi Lee, Kanoe Piltz, Madison Rabe, Tehani Seto, Lexie Tilton, Rayna White and Megan Yorba.
Yorba got the start in Game 1 for her lone appearance of the season after battling through injuries since her last game action in March 2025. The lefty went 3.2 innings with four strikeouts.
Rabe entered in relief and went 2.2 scoreless innings to earn her ninth win of the season — starting pitchers must go at least 4.0 innings in a seven-inning contest — before Lauren Otsubo closed out the final two outs for a first career save.
Mariah Antoque hit a solo home run in the third inning, and Ava Monturio added a two-run homer in the fourth.
In Game 2, Tehani Seto got the start (3.1 innings), Lee earned the win after 3.0 innings of relief and Mia Castillo closed out the final 0.2 innings for the save. Mia Joaquin blasted a two-run homer in the first inning.
Hawai'i Hilo closed the regular season at 23-11 in PacWest play to finish No. 3 in the conference and will next head to the four-team 2026 PacWest Championships double-elimination postseason tournament in La Mirada, California (May 5-7).
NOTES
- Game 1: HPU 3 - Hawai'i Hilo 6
- Monturio finished 2 for 3 with three RBI, a run, a walk and six putouts at first base.
- Tilton hit an RBI double in the second inning and totaled five putouts in left field — including a diving snag across the foul line to end the top of the sixth.
- Game 2: HPU 0 - Hawai'i Hilo 3
- Freshman Makanalei Watkins-Villegas made her first start of the season (and second overall on the year).
- Lee went 3.0 innings allowing just two hits with seven groundouts and one strikeout.
- Castillo made her seventh pitching appearance of the season.
- Antoque went 2 for 2 with a walk and eight assists at shortstop.
- Hawai'i Hilo: 26-15 Overall (23-11 PacWest)
- Preseason Coaches Poll: No. 6
- Current Conference Standing: No. 3
- HPU: 7-35 Overall (5-29 PacWest)
- Honolulu, Hawai'i
- Preseason Coaches Poll: No. 8
- Current Conference Standing: No. 10
UP NEXT
- Tuesday, May 5 (2 PM / 5 PM PT) at PacWest Championships vs #2 Biola (La Mirada, California)
- Wednesday, May 6 (TBD) at PacWest Championships (La Mirada, California)
- Thursday, May 7 (TBD) at PacWest Championships (La Mirada, California)
PACWEST CHAMPIONSHIPS
The four-team 2026 PacWest Championships postseason tournament will be hosted by Biola on May 5-7 in La Mirada, California. Clinched: Concordia (29-7), Biola (28-8), Hawai'i Hilo (23-11), Jessup (20-14). Champion earns an automatic bid into the eight-team NCAA West Regional.
NCAA WEST REGIONAL RANKINGS
The NCAA Division II Championships Committee released its second Division II Softball Regional Rankings listing Hawai'i Hilo at No. 7 out of 10 teams under consideration in the West Region. Rankings: No. 1 Cal State San Marcos, No. 2 Cal State East Bay, No. 3 Concordia, No. 4 Cal State Dominguez Hills, No. 5 Cal State Monterey Bay, No. 6 Biola, No. 7 Hawai'i Hilo, No. 8 Western Washington, No. 9 Northwest Nazarene, No. 10 Jessup.
Three automatic bids are awarded to each of the champions of the PacWest Conference, Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC), and California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with five at-large selections rounding out the field.
PACWEST HAWAI'I CHALLENGE
With the sweep on Friday, Hawai'i Hilo secured first place for the Softball section of the PacWest Hawai'i Challenge bringing the Vulcans' overall score to 24 points.
The Vulcans had already secured the 2025-26 competition after winning the Men's Golf PacWest Championships last month, claiming the trophy for the third consecutive year.
The year-long PacWest Hawai'i Challenge tracks head-to-head (Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer, Women's Volleyball, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Softball, Baseball) and common conference event results (Women's Cross Country, Women's Tennis, Men's Golf) in equal sponsored sports between Hawai'i's three NCAA Division II schools. Full breakdown available at HiloAthletics.com/PWCHI.
