KANEOHE, Hawaii – The Western Oregon University softball team will visit Hawaii this week playing six games over four days against three different teams. The Wolves will open the week on Friday against Hawaii Hilo with a doubleheader at 3 p.m. On Saturday, WOU will play two against Hawaii Pacific beginning at 2 p.m. To close the trip, the Wolves will go against Chaminade in two games on Monday beginning at 2 p.m. All times are Pacific Time.
WOU (7-2) is coming off of a sweep of Warner Pacific at home this past Friday by scores of 9-3 and 9-1. The Wolves have won three straight after ending the Concordia Kickoff Classic with a 10-8 win over San Francisco State.
Natalie Willoughby is hitting .500 to start the season, posting 11 hits, 11 runs and already has five home runs and 13 RBI, along with a double. She has six walks, a 1.834 OPS, 1.227 slugging percentage and .607 on-base percentage. Logan Carlos is hitting .484 with 15 hits, seven runs scored, two doubles, two triples, a home run and six RBI. Maddie Doig is off to a strong start to her collegiate career posting a .440 average with 11 hits, seven runs scored, three doubles, a triple, a home run and three RBI. Willoughby, Carlos and Doig all have an over 1.222 OPS on the season and are all slugging at least .760. Zoie Recolan holds a .389 average with seven hits, two runs scored and four RBI. Kate Ronning is at .333 with eight hits, six runs scored, two doubles and eight RBI. Kirah McGlothan is close to hitting .300 sitting at .296 with eight hits, six runs scored, a double, a home run and seven RBI. Erica Soliz is hitting .833 in six at-bats this year posting five hits. As a team, WOU is hitting .329 with 77 hits, 55 runs scored, 13 doubles, four triples, eight home runs and 55 RBI. Opponents have a .238 average with 55 hits, 34 runs scored, six doubles, three triples, three home runs and 30 RBI.
In the circle, Maddie Mayer has pitched in 17.2 innings, appearing in five games that includes two starts. She is 3-0 on the season with a 0.79 ERA, tallying 14 strikeouts to just seven walks. Chelsea Smith is also 3-0 on the season in 17 innings pitched, with a 3.71 ERA and 19 strikeouts to just six walks. Reilly Tidwell has the other win on the staff going 1-1 in 13.2 innings, holding a 4.61 ERA and has 10 strikeouts. As a staff, WOU has a 3.85 ERA in 60 innings pitched, recording 49 strikeouts to just 31 walks. Opponents have a 6.20 ERA in 55.1 innings pitched, coming away with 34 strikeouts to 30 walks.
This will be the first games of the season for Hawaii Hilo. They played a couple of exhibition doubleheaders against Depauw back in January. Last year, the Vulcans went 19-13, facing one team from the GNAC in Western Washington as Hawaii Hilo defeated the Vikings in the NCAA West Regional by a 3-0 score.
Angel Prewitt led the team in 2021 hitting .357 with 14 RBI. Kiarra Lincoln added a .351 average with two home runs and 15 RBI. Skylar Thomas tallied a .342 average with a home run and 10 RBI. Vevesi Liilii hit .321 with five home runs and 27 RBI. As a team, Hawaii Hilo hit .295 with 253 hits, 12 home runs and 129 RBI. Opponents hit .252 with 194 hits, nine home runs and 85 RBI.
In the circle, Valerie Alvarado held a 2.48 ERA, going 7-5 in 76.1 innings pitched and has 43 strikeouts. Leah Gonzales had a 2.48 ERA as well in 67.2 innings, going 7-3 with 36 strikeouts. Sara Bhatt posted a 3.02 ERA in 41.2 innings and went 5-3. As a staff, the Vulcans tallied a 2.83 ERA in 208 innings, with 106 strikeouts. Opponents held a 3.50 ERA in 208 innings, collecting 86 strikeouts.
Prewitt, Thomas, and Bhatt are all back for the 2022 season.
WOU and Hawaii Hilo are 4-4 in their past eight meetings since 2002. The Vulcans have won the past three meetings, with the teams last playing in 2016 in Utah with UHH taking the 9-2 victory. WOU made one trip during that time out to Hawaii playing at Hilo in 2013 going 2-1 in a three-game set.
The Wolves then play Hawaii Pacific on Saturday. The Sharks are 4-5 on the season and already hosted a team from Oregon earlier this year playing Corban on Feb. 1 sweeping the doubleheader. Hawaii Pacific competed in the Concordia Kickoff Classic where they went 1-4. Two of the losses were by one run to both Sonoma State and Cal State Dominguez Hills. After falling to Cal State Monterey Bay (3-0), the Sharks closed the tournament falling to Cal State East Bay (9-1). They defeated GNAC opponent Northwest Nazarene (2-1).
Neva Poulin leads HPU with a .483 average, tallying 14 hits and two RBI. Malia Torres is hitting .438 with three RBI. Brandi Leong adds a .387 average and Kanoe Tanigawa is hitting .357. As a team, the Sharks are hitting .292 with 69 hits, 28 runs scored, 10 doulbes, four triples and 19 RBI. Opponents are hitting .251 with 57 hits, 31 runs scored, 11 doubles, three triples, two home runs and 28 RBI.
In the circle, Torres leads the way with a 2.80 ERA in 30 innings pitched, going 1-3 with 11 strikeouts. Taylor Thompson has pitched the other 29.2 innings, going 3-2 with a 3.54 ERA and 29 strikeouts. As a staff, the Sharks have a 3.17 ERA in 59.2 innings and have added 40 strikeouts. Opponents have a 2.05 ERA in 58 innings and have 26 strikeouts.
Hawaii Pacific is 6-1 against WOU since 2002 and have won the past four meetings. The teams last played in Hawaii during the 2017 season with the Sharks taking the doubleheader. The last win for WOU was in 2013 taking the 8-5 victory in Hawaii. Of the seven meetings, four have been in Hawaii and the other three in California.
WOU will close the Hawaii trip facing Chaminade on Monday. The Silverswords have played just two games so far this year going 1-1 with Corban. Chaminade will play Hawaii in an exhibition doubleheader on Friday before playing the Wolves. Last year, Chaminade went 12-12
Bailey Jacobsen leads the team with a .600 average, tallying three hits. Haley Hayakawa, Kobe Brown and Cheyne Obara are all hitting .429. Chasity McKean and Malia Ka'akimaka-Moisa are all hitting .400. Obara has three RBI. As a team, Chaminade is hitting .316 with 18 hits, 10 runs scored, a double and eight RBI. Opponents are hitting .220 with nine hits, four runs scored, a double and four RBI.
In the circle, Jaeda Cabunoc has a 1.83 ERA in 7.2 innings, going 1-0 with two strikeouts. Charlize De Jesus has a 2.63 ERA in 5.1 innings, going 0-1 with a strikeout. As a staff, the Silverswords have a 2.15 ERA in 13 innings, along with three strikeouts. Opponents have a 5.53 ERA in 12.2 innings and also have three strikeouts.
Live stats will be available for the games against Hawaii Hilo and can be found here.
Live video and stats will be available for the games against Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade.
For the game against Hawaii Pacific: Click here for live video and click here for live stats
For the game against Chaminade: Click here for live video and click here for live stats
