UH-Hilo softball player Vevesi Liilii isn’t quite ready to grow up yet.
Fellow senior Mae Kaleikini is. She’s ready to blossom, albeit in another field of play altogether, though her decision didn’t come lightly.
In terms of a seasonal curve, the Vulcans appeared to be climbing to their apex in early March when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down college sports nationwide.
Kaleikini, who was looking for a resurgent season, felt “robbed.”
Liilii, who looked poised for a big season, was angry.
“It didn’t feel real to me. I felt like I was stuck in a terrible nightmare and I couldn’t get out,” said Liilii, of Aiea, Oahu. “After a week or so, I gained more information about COVID-19 and all the danger it causes and eventually grew more understanding.”
The NCAA, a much-maligned governing body, showed it understood the situation as well, giving seniors in spring sports the opportunity to restore an extra season of eligibility.
Kaleikini and Liilii listed the pros and cons.
For Kaleikini, the cons, such as financial stability, job opportunities and housing, won out. She’s gone, but not without moments of melancholy.
“I am very heartbroken over this decision,” said Kaleikini, of Honolulu. “Unfortunately, after seeing the truth of it all, my family and I decided that not coming back next year was the better route to take.
“I won’t be able to get that redemption season I was hoping for and it’s very heartbreaking, but that’s just a part of life. Win some, lose some. This is just something I have to accept and move on with.”
She’s still living in the dorms, is taking online classes and is primed to graduate this spring with a degree in kinesiology and exercise science: sports medicine along with an education studies certificate.
UHH coach Callen Perreira credits Kaleikini – who hit .361 in 2018 – for playing eight different positions in three-plus seasons and contributing to 99 Vulcans victories.
“She is going to be missed,” Perreira said.
Who knows how many more wins Kaleikini could have been a part of if not for the pandemic, or if the Vuls could have reached regionals for the first time on her watch?
“With this virus going on it has stripped me of many more memorable moments, such as a senior night, end-of-year banquets, and even my graduation ceremony as well,” she said.
But the world awaits.
“I am confident that this won’t stop me from creating more memories in different ways that will benefit my future,” Kaleikini said. “I plan to join the workforce, applying all the skills and studies that I have learned over the years that I have attended UHH.”
“I wouldn’t trade my years here for any other program.”
Pitcher Billi Derleth, a graduate student who could have come back for a sixth year, also is foregoing an extra season.
Lilii isn’t going anywhere, and the Vuls’ top two pitchers, Valerie Alvarado and Leah Gonzalez, and outfielder Kimberly Olivas, who was hitting .316 with five steals, also have applied for senior do-overs.
When Liilii made her list of pros and cons, one intangible helped tip the scale.
“In the end, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to play the sport I love competitively for the last time,” she said.
Liilii was clobbering the ball when her season was cut short, walloping two tape measure home runs to help UHH sweep three games against No. 8-ranked Concordia. A third homer and another potential win against Concordia was wiped away by rain. Batting .262 with a steady outfield glove, her four homers led the team and her 14 RBIs were second.
The world can wait.
“When I heard that we would get our year of eligibility back, I was ecstatic,” Liilii said. “I did struggle a bit with coming back due to the fact that I had plans. From the moment I got the call, I had to make a decision if I wanted to grow up already or not.”
With the exception of Kaleikini and Derleth, Perreira expects the 2020 roster to return intact next season, so Kiarra Lincoln and Markie Okamoto, who were hitting .356 and .328, respectively, will be back as juniors. Perreira recently signed four players who will be freshmen next season, and junior pitcher Briana Wheeler, who took a redshirt before the 2020 season, could be in the mix as well and isa potential ace.
Perreira hailed the new additions – pitchers Nia Trinidad (Rocklin, Calif.) and Sara Bhatt (Murrieta, Calif.), infielder Breanna Gonzalez (Surprise, Ariz.) and catcher Taisha Bratton (Moreno Valley, Calif.) – as an athletic recruiting class.
“It features two potential frontline pitchers as well as depth at catcher and middle infield,” he said.
Liilii is taking online classes back home on Oahu and bonding with her family, which includes five sisters and a father who coaches football.
“He trains my sisters and me in our yard,” she said. “He helps me physically and mentally to stay in shape and hungry for next season.”
Her plan is to graduate in the fall and then gear up to start tearing the cover off the ball again for her real senior season.
“We definitely have the talent to go all the way,” she said. “I feel as if our team chemistry was strong, and with the addition of the recruits I feel that we can only grow stronger. In my opinion, it will come down to our work ethic and how bad we want it.”
