Bailey Gaspar’s final power surge wasn’t the only bright spot for UH-Hilo’s softball team during the final weekend of the regular season. ADVERTISING Bailey Gaspar’s final power surge wasn’t the only bright spot for UH-Hilo’s softball team during the final
Bailey Gaspar’s final power surge wasn’t the only bright spot for UH-Hilo’s softball team during the final weekend of the regular season.
Depending how far one looked in Honolulu, there was another.
Gaspar collected her second Pacific West Conference Player of the Week honor Monday, this after she went 10 for 15 with three home run and 12 RBIs in four games, two each against Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific. All three of Gaspar’s homers came Friday in a sweep of the Silverswords (8-1 and 12-1) as the Vulcans secured their ninth consecutive winning season.
Gaspar drove in four runs Saturday as the Sharks swept UH-Hilo 4-0 and 7-5. The Vulcans (26-22, 17-15 PacWest) finished in a tie for seventh in the 12-team PacWest.
Gaspar, a junior, ranked in the top five in the PacWest in RBIs (53), doubles (14), slugging percentage (.753) and on-base percentage (.503), and her home run total led the conference and ranked 16th in the nation.
While coach Callen Perreira can look forward to having Gaspar back next season, the Vulcans also got a glimpse of the future Saturday night in Honolulu.
In the HHSAA Division I championship game, UH-Hilo Class of 2017 signee Danielle Cervantes capped her career with a one-hit shutout, carrying unseeded Campbell to 2-0 victory against top-seeded Mililani for a third consecutive crown.
Cervantes struck out 11 and walked only one.
She finished the tournament with a 4-0 record, beating BIIF runner-up Kealakehe, ILH champion Maryknoll and OIA rival Pearl City before the final and was named Most Outstanding Player.
Golfers are honored
UH-Hilo’s Jared Kinoshita and Taylor Patrick were named third-team all-PacWest on Monday.
Kinoshita, a sophomore from Bakersfield, Calif., had a season average of 74.43 per round.
He finished fifth at the Saint Martin’s Invitational last fall, and also tied for fifth at the Hawaii Challenge, where he shot a season-low 68 on the second day.
Patrick, a freshman from Surrey, British Columbia, finished with a season average of 74.54.
He was UHH’s top finisher at the PacWest finals, placing in 18th.
Vuls finish with tie
Thanks to a looming airplane flight, the Vulcans finished the season with an 8-8 tie on Sunday at Hawaii Pacific.
In the first game of the doubleheader, the Vulcans (8-31-1) lost 9-7.
Junior Philip Steering went 2 for 8 on the day, finishing with a .421 average and a .537 on-base percentage, both tops in the PacWest.
