The Chaminade Silverswords softball team is nearing the end of the 2015 season with a double header against Hawaii Pacific, currently the Swords overall record stands at 10-36.
The Swords struggled to find rhythm early the season but have recently come back from an eight game losing streak, sweeping a Pacific West Conference doubleheader at BYU-Hawai’i, 8-5 and 8-0, earlier this month.
“Yea it wasn’t the best season,” said center fielder Sierra Mendiola “But still one win better than last season.”
The Swords have struggled to get into the double digits in the win column in years past so overall this season is an improvement from last.
In a preseason poll for the Pacific West Conference, the Silverswords were selected to finish seventh, receiving 56 points in a vote of the league’s coaches. Dixie State was projected to win overall.
In February the Swords won their first game, splitting a doubleheader against Western Washington after being swept on opening day by Gustavus Adolphus College
In the PacWest conference opener later that month, the Swords managed to split a doubleheader against BYU-Hawai’i.
The batting average for the team is .255 with catcher Ashley Phelps leading the team with a .359 batting average and .465 on base percentage.
Pitcher Brett Aspel leads with a 4.40 ERA including 5 wins and 14 losses, as a whole, the team’s ERA is averaged to 5.72, which is also improved from last season.
A high point that came in the middle of season came when the Swords traveled to California and swept Holy Names. The Swords took the double header with the score 9-5 and 12-6 and showed offensive power, combining for a season-high 29 hits for the series.
Third baseman Coco Stewart was chosen the Player of the Week for the last week in March during which she hit .667 (12-18) in six games against both Holy Names and Faulkner University.
It has been two years since a Sword was awarded Player of the week. Chaminade’s Rayna Storm-Okimoto achieved two consecutive conference honors back in April 2013.
More recently, pitcher Luana Moreno also received conference honors being named PacWest Newcomer of the week for the first week in April. Moreno pitched the Sword’s first shutout of the season against BYU-Hawai’i. This was her fourth win of the season as she allowed only five hits, two walks and two strikeouts.
With one more series left in the season against Hawaii Pacific on May 2, the Swords are hoping to maintain some of the momentum and rhythm they have found towards the later half of the season.
“We have a great group of girls,” said head coach Kent Yamaguchi, “it’s just been hard to translate our hard work into wins.”
The Swords have managed to improve their record from last season by one game in which they went 9-32.
Seven seniors will be graduating after this semester including catcher Ashley Phelps, pitchers Brett Aspel and Kaitlyn Wantanabe, outfielders Elia Lizarraga and Shannon Hokama, infielder Aja Keyes and first baseman Theresa Capllonch.