Former UH-Hilo softball coach Callen Perreira left new coach Aisha Sueda one last parting gift.
The Vulcans (19-13 last season) reached the postseason for the first time since 1993, and Perreira set up an exhibition series against DePauw, a Division III school from Indiana that reached the NCAA national championship in 2019.
The Tigers return their ace senior Cami Henry, who lost 1-0 to Trine, also from Indiana, in the title game on a fourth-inning homer.
UHH plays a doubleheader against DePauw at noon today at Walter Victor complex. (The Vulcans open their season with a doubleheader against Western Oregon on Friday, Feb. 18 on Oahu.)
“After being named head coach, I was told that these games have already been scheduled,” Sueda said. “I’m glad I’m able to get my feet wet in this exhibition game. It’s a little early in the season for us but gladly accept the challenge.
“I’ve heard Henry has a pretty good arm and rise ball. My focus is not too much on what the other team can do, more on what we need to do and how we adjust to the other team. We’ve got speed and a lot of lefties who can play small ball. We have a big pitching staff. Although they are young and may not have experience yet, I believe they will all evolve into impactful pitchers.”
The Vulcans return six starting or part-time players in senior outfielder Angel Prewitt (.357 batting average, .902 OPS), senior first baseman Skylar Thomas (.342, .903), junior slugger Nikki Zielinski (.314, .713), junior third baseman Chloe Domingo (.266, .678), junior infielder Alana Alvarez (.207, .651), junior outfielder Brandee Chinen (.200, .392), and one pitcher in sophomore Sara Bhatt (5-3, 3.02 ERA).
“They don’t know what the starting lineup is,” Sueda said. “There will be a lot of new faces out there, and they will get the job done. We will look to Sara for the experience part as she has the most, coming off last season. Sara’s speed has always been one of her main strengths. We have stressed more movement and trying not to get too deep in pitch counts.”
The Vulcans welcome the return home of sophomore first baseman Kuulei Ili, who played at Crown College, a Division III school in Minnesota the last two years. She batted .316 with six RBIs in 28 games last season for the Storm (7-21).
One of Sueda’s top recruits is freshman infielder Jayda Favela from Campbell High on Oahu. She played second base for the Sabers, who won the OIA title in 2019 and tied for fifth at the state tournament.
“She’s impressed me with her bat, speed, and her range on the field coming in as a freshman is really impressive,” Sueda said. “I have a lot of faith in her that she will have a stellar freshman year.”
Sueda loaded up on pitching, bringing in five new pitchers in sophomore Nia Trinidad, from Rocklin, Calif.; freshman Alexis Lacy, from Anaheim Hills, Calif.; freshman Mari Kimoto, from Moanalua High on Oahu; freshman Makena Goldbeck, from Santa Rosa, Calif.; and sophomore Malia Risdall, from Santa Clara, Calif.
“Recruiting has been going well so far. I was able to attend a tournament in Las Vegas over the summer,” Sueda said. “I’ve also been trying to reach out and or be contacted by many local coaches through travel ball teams and high schools.”
The goal remains the same for Sueda, who played for the Vulcans from 2009 to 2012 and hit over .300 in three of her four seasons.
“Of course, the goal is to win the conference and make it to the postseason and even farther,” she said. “We have a handful of girls who were part of that team last year, so it’s definitely something talked about. As a team, it is just really understanding the amount of hard work it takes to get there.
“It’s a major relief that Callie Nunes (Concordia’s All-American ace) has graduated, but they are still returning some great players. You still have Biola, which made it all the way to the College World Series championship. Being that we mainly played in pods last season and competed against the Hawaii teams, I’m not too sure how the other teams have evolved over the past two years.”
The Vulcans open with their first 20 games on the road, and their first home game is against Holy Names on Tuesday, March 8. But at least they close the season with their last 16 games at their stadium.
“That definitely is a plus. We have a pretty tough traveling schedule, so finishing off at home and being able to sleep in our own beds and hopefully we can play on our newly improved field will be great,” Sueda said.
