DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Senior shortstop Kate Judd, the two-time WAC Player of the Year, is five homers short of tying UH's career home run mark.
You can't touch her. And with the Hawaii softball team's new bats, it's likely that senior shortstop Kate Judd will be even more dominant this season. Judd powers
softball team
By Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comThe two-time Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year (2001-02) clubbed 11 home runs last season and is five shy of tying former Wahine Dana Degen's career record of 29.
In 2002, Judd led the WAC in batting with a .414 average, including five home runs and 12 RBIs. She has a .309 career batting average at UH. Judd is expected to earn her third straight conference Player of the Year award and was already the preseason pick.
She makes hitting look easy even when you know it isn't.
"Some days you're out there and you're thinking 'What are they throwing, volleyballs at me?,' " said Judd, who is from Canberra, Australia.
"But it depends. Everyday it's different. Sometimes you're seeing it perfectly like it is in slow motion. Other days, it's getting by you."
Judd doesn't think the new lighter bats will make that much of a difference for an already strong hitting team but they could give Hawaii a little extra zing.
"So far, they've been good," Judd said. "We have a lot of good hitters anyway so it doesn't matter what we swing. We're going to be hitting solid. The bats should give us those hits that may not necessarily be hits. They're going to give us a bit of extra pop."
The extra pop could help this year. The Rainbow Wahine fell short of making the NCAA tournament last season in the final weekend when they split a four-game series against Tulsa.
Hawaii begins anew tomorrow when it opens the season against Louisville at 6 p.m. at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. UH follows that game with Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. on the first day of the Chevron Paradise Classic.
The Wahine lost their most experienced ace from last year when Sheri Oronoz left the team for personal reasons. In her junior season, Oronoz led the staff in wins (18) and strikeouts (78). Sophomores Melissa Coogan and Shannon Tabion will be in the circle for Hawaii this season. Freshman Paula Blanning is expected to see time out of the bullpen.
Pitching won't be Hawaii's strongpoint and Wahine softball coach Bob Coolen knows it.
"It's basically going to be putting the pressure on the other team with our bats," Coolen said. "We need to do that and then we need to be very comfortable with our pitchers. We aren't very comfortable with Melissa Coogan and Shannon Tabion on the mound and that's just something we need to gain confidence with.
"As we go on, no matter who's on the mound we're going to score runs and put pressure on the other team and that's what we want to do."
Coolen has plenty of hitters to do that. Junior first baseman Stacey Porter shattered Hawaii's single-season home run record with 15 last year (the previous record was nine, by Degen). Porter batted .327 in 2002 and led the Wahine with 47 RBIs. She'll probably own several UH hitting records by the time she finishes her career.
Sophomore Denise Dahlberg is another All-WAC preseason selection. The catcher finished fourth in the conference in batting (.324) last year.
Judd's leadership will be as important as her bat. Hawaii has six freshmen and six sophomores on the roster. Judd is one of two seniors along with Kauai's Trisha Ramos.
"She takes on board everyone," Porter said. "She treats everyone equally and she leads by example. On the field, she's a top hitter. She talks the pitcher up and keeps everyone composed. Everyone looks up to her."
Composure is something the Wahine will need this year. Hawaii faces nine ranked opponents. The Wahine will see No. 1 UCLA, No. 3 California and No. 23 Oregon State at the Nevada-Las Vegas tournament in two weeks. Also on the schedule are No. 10 Cal State Fullerton, No. 12 Texas, No. 16 Ohio State, No. 21 Pacific and conference foe Fresno State (No. 15).
The Wahine's first major challenge is against No. 6 Washington on Friday.
"We have a lot of rookies who have a lot of enthusiasm," Judd said. "They were out in the fall when a lot of people weren't even thinking about it yet. They've really pushed everybody up a level which is just fantastic for us."
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