So much for warming up. PacWest softball season
beginning earlyBy Jerry Campany
jcampany@starbulletin.comJust a week into the NCAA Division II softball schedule, the conference season starts tonight.
Chaminade hosts Hawaii-Hilo in a rematch of the game that kept the Vulcans out of the postseason last year, while Brigham Young-Hawaii visits Hawaii Pacific.
Last year the Silverswords handed the Vulcans their only loss on Oahu, winning 7-6 in 10 innings. The Vulcans finished a game behind Western New Mexico for the conference title and automatic berth into regionals.
It appears the Vulcans -- or any of the contenders -- can't afford an early season letdown because Western New Mexico swept Division I New Mexico State in three games in Las Cruces, N.M., last week. The Mustangs didn't allow the Aggies a single run.
HPU coach Howard Okita sets up the schedules for the entire conference, and says he had to turn away teams wanting to make the swing through Hawaii. He says it is the first time he has had such a nice problem, and that the quality of opponents is a lot better than in the past. Usually NAIA or Division III teams find their way on the early schedule, but not this year.
So if Okita had to turn teams away, why is the conference season starting a week earlier than last year? Because for all the interest, teams only want to travel at certain times, filling their spring breaks with softball games in paradise.
But the early trip could help parity in the league, as by the time March rolls around there are no more secrets between teams. It is just the team that executes best wins.
"We hope to steal some of the early ones and get on a roll," Seasiders coach Jackson Mapu said. "Nobody really knows anything about us (the Seasiders are only returning four players from last year), so we want to hit them before they can adjust."
Hawaii stacked: Usually, Hawaii basketball teams start the season ranked in the regional poll before beating each other up and knocking each other out.
This year, three of the four Hawaii teams are still hanging on halfway through the season.
BYUH moved up to No. 19 in the nation but stayed at the No. 3 spot in the region behind Cal State San Bernardino and Humboldt State. Hilo moved up to No. 6 in the region, while HPU clung to the No. 10 spot before losing to the Seasiders in overtime Wednesday.
The automatic bid that comes with the conference championship is likely between the Seasiders (7-1) and the Vulcans (6-2), but Chaminade (4-4) and Montana State-Billings (5-4) have an outside shot.
The Seasiders travel to Hilo for a pair of games next weekend.
BYUH still holds hopes of hosting the regional, but is kind of in a no-win situation.
After the showdown with the Vulcans, the Seasiders host Billings twice and Western New Mexico once before hosting Chaminade in the final game of the year. Because the region awards fewer points for beating a sub-.500 team, the Seasiders will be hoping the 9-11 Silverswords get their record over .500 before then.
BYUH busy: The Seasiders' water polo team signed California standout Sam Somerhalder to a letter of intent this week.
Somerhalder was an All Bay Valley Athletic League first-teamer three years in a row and led Liberty High School with 125 goals and 72 steals last season. He is the first recruit to sign with the Seasiders this year.
The Seasiders broke into the national rankings last year in their second year of existence and qualified for the Western Water Polo Association playoffs for the first time.
Hall of Famers: Former athletes Pat Fitzgerald and Laurie Kemp will join community leader Tom Goya in the newest class inducted into the City Bank Vulcan Hall of Fame on Feb. 22 at the Hilo campus center dining room.
Fitzgerald lives in Santa Rosa, Calif., and was twice an all-district performer for the Vulcan basketball team from 1978 to '80.
During his first season, he established the school record for field goals attempted in a season with 466 and is in the top 10 in scoring and assists despite playing only two years.
Kemp set a school record with 47 digs in a match in 1991 and was an NAIA All-American twice.
Goya has served as a leader in the Vulcan Athletic Booster Club since 1979 and is still active in trying to develop the school as an economic engine for the community.
Foyle found on ESPN: BYUH basketball player Alexus Foyle appeared on ESPN.com's page for the Golden State Warriors in a story about the close relationship between him and his cousin, Warriors center Adonal Foyle.
The story reported that the family scored 42 points Jan. 31, with Alexus, who leads Division II in scoring, torching Hilo for 40 and Adonal chipping in two against the Utah Jazz.
Bo vs. Deion: Chaminade's Audrey Brady and Chelsea Smith of BYUH clashed on the tennis court Tuesday, with Smith beating Brady 6-4, 6-3. It is a secondary sport for both, as Smith is the Seasiders' top cross country runner and Brady led the Silverswords' volleyball team to the regional final.
The Seasiders, who are the top-ranked team in the country and the defending national champion, easily took care of Chaminade 9-0.