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Every game means something. Defense the key
Silverswords arrive to challenge
to Hilo’s best seasonBy Jerry Campany
jcampany@starbulletin.comThat may have been the greatest lesson learned by Hawaii-Hilo's softball team this season, as it put together its second-best season in history only to learn that it was not good enough. The Vulcans missed what turned out to be the PacWest's only postseason berth by a single game, going 17-3 in conference games while champion Western New Mexico went 18-2.
The Vulcans split four conference games with the Mustangs in Hilo, leaving the conference race up to the team that could beat the league's lesser foes without making a mistake. That team was Western New Mexico, which ran through Chaminade, Brigham Young-Hawaii and Hawaii Pacific with a perfect 12-0 mark.
The Vulcans nearly matched the feat, going 11-1 against their state rivals. The loss that will haunt them came way back in March, when Hilo visited Chaminade and dropped the first game of a doubleheader 7-6 on Jilian Umeda's 10th inning single off Taysha Anderson. Hilo went on to sweep the rest of its conference games, but the damage was already done.
If he can ever get over that one game, Callen Perreira will consider the season a positive.
"It could have very well came down to that (Chaminade loss)," Perreira said. "We also could have beat Western New Mexico one more time at home. We did a lot better than we have ever done and we still didn't make the postseason, but it was still a very good year."
His team went 38-19 against what could be regarded as its toughest schedule during his regime. The Vulcans made two trips to the mainland, one a two-week affair with tournaments in Florida and California, but it still was not enough to get noticed by the regional committee.
The Vulcans became Hawaii's elite small college team by shoring up their defense.
The infield defense improved its fielding percentage in three of the four positions. Diana Kim and Michelle LaRose did their usual stellar jobs at the corners, but the emergence of Nancy Vega at shortstop and Claresa Asuncion at second made it Hawaii's best defensive infield. All but LaRose will return next year.
"We worked hard on that," Perreira said. "We lost a lot of games due to our defense last year and I am looking forward to them growing together and improving next year."
That infield defense allowed Hilo's trio of pitchers to give up fewer than two runs a game after surrendering 2 1/2 a season ago. Kristine Kahoalii emerged as a stopper in the circle, throwing nine shutouts while winning 18 games. Anderson, a senior, joined Kahoalii on the league's All-Star team by winning 11 of her 16 starts and providing No. 3 pitcher Tara Martinez time to grow into the No. 2 role she will inherit next year.
"She (Martinez) got a lot of pitching time as a freshman and won a couple of crucial games for us," Perreira said. "I think that having two other pitchers allowed her time to adjust. She lost focus toward the end but knows what she has to do for next year."
The Vulcans got the same steady output on the offensive side, led by Leinani Hashida's breakout year. Hashida hit .347 and drove in 33 runs.
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Silverswords arrive
to challenge PacWestChaminade (26-23)
Depending on how they build upon it, this season may be looked at as a breakout year for the Silverswords.They only finished three games above .500 after going 18-23 a year ago, but improved in every aspect of the game. They won seven of their last eight games to get over the .500 mark.
Thanks to Melissa Marquez and Kelly Kaaihili, they improved their team earned run average by more than half a run (2.64-1.96). Marquez ended up third among Hawaii pitchers in ERA (1.63) and second in wins (13) while Kaaihili backed her up with the fifth lowest ERA (2.29).
Although their resurgence started in the circle, Chaminade supported its pair of aces. They scored more runs a game than last year, 3.38-2.63. Loihi McKeague started the offense off by scoring 27 runs and driving in 17, and was helped by Kimberly Balles' 22 RBIs and 19 runs scored. Alicia Quindt finished the season as the Silverswords' leading batter, hitting .339 while playing in every game.
Hawaii Pacific (21-21)
The Sea Warriors were a mirror image of the Silverswords, looking like their usual dominant selves before collapsing down the stretch with just three wins in their last 17 games.Brandy Choy Foo kept the offense running at the same level as last year, hitting .356 and scoring 28 runs. Tascha Berinobis and Kim Fukumoto accomplished the task of driving Choy Foo home, with 55 RBIs between them.
But pitching and defense have always been HPU's strength, at least until this season.
Hawaii Pacific pitchers mysteriously gave up almost a full earned run per game more than they did last season, finishing with a gaudy 2.63 ERA after limiting opponents to a 1.68 mark last year. Most of the blame could be put on the sophomore slumps of pitchers Jessica Parra and Malia Sullivan. Parra allowed 3.07 earned runs per game after a 1.56 mark last year while Sullivan fashioned a 2.33 ERA after putting up a 1.66 last season. They threw only two shutouts this year (both by Parra) after combining to post seven a year ago. And that only counts earned runs. The usually steady defense dropped to .951 in fielding percentage from .973.
Luckily, one pitcher seemed to be immune to the shaky defense. Mallory Anderson came on to sport a 2.34 ERA in 15 starts, but won only seven games while losing eight.
Brigham Young-Hawaii (10-30)
The Seasiders came off a 17-32 campaign seeming to only need a pitcher who could match up with the aces at the other three local schools.And halfway through the season, they found one.
Kassiopeia Hood finished with a 4-10 record and 3.48 ERA in her first season, but the numbers don't tell the tale of her potential. She threw four of her team's five shutouts and lost three of her games 1-0. She also led the team innings despite starting two fewer games than Tracy Bonomi, who went into the season as the No. 1 starter.
Each of the Seasiders' pitchers faced the problem of a lack of support throughout the year, as BYUH barely scored more than two runs a game (2.27), regressing from a 2.60 mark last year. Maggie Reynolds was BYUH's only hitting threat this year, leading the team in batting average (.280), runs scored (16) and RBIs (13). The Seasiders only hit one home run all season, that one by Juanita Vega.
Jerry Campany, Star-Bulletin