DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Stacey Porter became the Wahine's career home run leader when she hit her 30th on Saturday and will have another season after this one to add to her total.

Porter’s
having a blast

The first baseman put herself
in UH's record book Saturday
with her 30th career dinger

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By Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.com

She wasn't thinking about a record. She wasn't swinging for the fences.

Big Boppers The top four home run hitters in Wahine history (x-active) x-Stacey Porter 30 Dana Degen 29 x-Kate Judd 26 x-April Crowell 14

All Stacey Porter wanted to do was make contact and break out of an 0-for-3 batting slump last Saturday against Nevada. The junior first baseman for the Hawaii softball team did so in style, connecting on a 1-1 offering from Wolf Pack pitcher Judith van Kampen with one out in the third inning to help the Wahine finish off their second doubleheader sweep of Nevada, 2-1.

Not only did Porter's solo homer provide the winning run, it also pushed her to the top of the UH career home run list with 30, one ahead of Dana Degen (1997-2001). But what Porter is aiming for when she steps on the field today is helping the Wahine stay atop the Western Athletic Conference standings.

Hawaii (25-16, 6-2 WAC) hosts Tulsa (29-18, 4-2) in doubleheaders today and Saturday. Taking the series from the Golden Hurricane would move the Wahine a giant step closer to their first conference title.

Porter remembers all too well how Tulsa spoiled Hawaii's season last year. The teams split the two twinbills to close out the year, keeping the Wahine from getting an NCAA at-large berth.

"I think getting four wins against them would have done it for us," said Porter. "But that was last year. Tulsa is having a good season this year. They've beaten Fresno (State), but so have we.

"To win the WAC is a goal this year. We've never done it. I think we're better than Tulsa, but we have to prove it. We've lost maybe nine to 10 games this year to teams that we should beat. We've been such a Jekyll-and-Hyde team."

The same might be said for Porter, who was the WAC Freshman of the Year in 2001. She started off her career 1-for-21 at the plate but raised her batting average to .320 by the end of the season.

Currently, the Australia native is leading the WAC with a .421 average for all games, but is hitting just .250 in conference play.

"She's crushing the ball for us, but not doing much in WAC games," said Wahine coach Bob Coolen. "We're certainly hoping she comes alive this week. Even though she's not hitting now, the opponents do respect her. She leads the team in walks (with 25).

"I remember when she first came in. It took her 18 at-bats to get her first hit. People asked why did I recruit her. She was with a new club, her timing was off and she just had to get her feet wet. That she ended up hitting .400 at the end of the season is just a testament to how she was able to figure it out."

It didn't take much for Porter to figure out she'd be better off playing college softball in America than working at home and playing softball on the weekends. The university system in Australia is much different and athletic scholarships are nonexistent.

"It's different at home. In Australia you don't have an NCAA," said Porter, a travel industry management major. "You don't go to university to play sports, there are no scholarships.

"I love being here. Coming here was a good decision for me."

Porter's next big decision is to leave Hawaii for a year to pursue her Olympic dream. She'll attend class in the fall then take the spring semester off in hopes of making the Australian team for the 2004 Games in Athens.

"They'd be crazy not to take her at third base," said Coolen. "She's such an outstanding player at her position."

Ironically, Coolen has had the 6-foot Porter at first her entire career because "we never had a first baseman that tall and she makes a very nice target," the coach said. The plan is to move Porter back to third when she returns for her senior season in 2005.

"I enjoy playing first," said Porter. "It's different than third. You're involved in a lot more of the plays."

Porter's been swinging a different bat recently and likes the feel of the new STS-4 model. It was what she used to slam homer No. 30 of her career, No. 9 for the season.

"It's a nice feeling to hit one out," said Porter. "Sometimes you know it's going out. Saturday, I wasn't quite sure.

"And I didn't know I was close to the record. I wasn't thinking about it. I hadn't had a hit that day and was trying to make contact. It came off the bat pretty good."

Some 210 feet later, it was in the record book.

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UH Athletics