Last season, the Chaminade softball team suffered through one of its worst campaigns ever. With a 9-42 record, the nine wins were the second-fewest the team has ever had (in a non-COVID season). The Silverswords suffered two double-digit losing streaks (13 games and 10 games, respectively), and opponents scored nearly twice as many runs as Chaminade.
But with 15 players returning this year, the Silverswords will look to improve.
“I really believe we can do something special this year,” head coach Kent Yamaguchi said. “The way the team has been working is really hard. I believe we have enough softball talent to put together something good, and I’m very excited about the season.”
Chaminade will start its season in the Concordia Kickoff Classic in Irvine, California, against Cal State San Marcos, the 14th-ranked team in the nation, on Friday at 9 a.m. This game will be the first of five that the Silverswords will play in this tournament. They will also face No. 3 Western Washington and No. 17 Cal State East Bay in the tournament.
Yamaguchi believes pitching will be the team’s strength and key to achieving its first winning season since 2013. Out of the six players who pitched last season, five have returned, which will bring more experience to the mound.
“I have two senior pitchers in Bailey Benson and Kamryn Lopez, and I expect them to do something really good this year,” said Yamaguchi, who is entering his 21st season at the helm. “I think we can ride those two players’ arms, but we have six total solid pitchers, which I think most teams don’t have.”
Benson, a lefty, led the team last season with 101 innings and a 4.36 ERA. She will look to continue to lead the pitchers this season and play an important role for the team. Followed behind her will be sophomore Ava Walker, junior Vanessa Pena, and Lopez. All four were the top four pitchers on the team last season. The other two pitchers who will provide more depth are senior Anissa Vital and freshman Kayden Lopez.
“I want to be someone my teammates can rely on in high-pressure situations, and be consistent and competitive every time I’m pitching,” Benson said. “I want to lead by example on and off the field to help the team succeed in any way we can this season.”
With the graduation of catcher Larchelle Tuifao, who was a top power hitter with 38 hits on the team last season, the Silverswords are going to look more toward their pitching and defense. Tuifao hit four home runs last season, which led her to get All-PacWest First Team honors. Another big loss to the team was 2024 PacWest player of the year Taryn Fujioka, who was a shortstop and led the team with 26 runs last season as a senior.
Despite two important players graduating, Yamaguchi feels the returners and some new players he has brought in have improved the team. One key addition is Sunni Kahanu, who is a sophomore transfer from the University of Hawaii. She is expected to fill in the role at shortstop that Fujioka left.
“I view it as motivation that Coach Kent feels I can fill in that spot because what she accomplished is huge,” said Kahanu, who scored four runs for UH as a freshman. “I plan to fill in the spot by being the best version of myself, staying consistent, working hard, and continuing to earn trust from my teammates and coaches.”
Last year was a drop-off for the Silverswords, as it was the first time in five years that they failed to win at least 10 games. Their opponents scored 308 runs, compared to Chaminade’s 161. Its opponents almost doubled the amount of runs Chaminade had last season.
Yamaguchi put an emphasis on timely hitting as the key to success this season. This is what the team has been working on, which was shown in the fall with a 4-3 loss against Cal State Fullerton, a Division I program.
The Silverswords will head into the Concordia Kickoff Classic with a hard slate of games to start the season. Three of the five games will be against nationally ranked opponents. The team will look to use these games to prepare them for PacWest play that will begin Feb. 13 at Concordia University Irvine.