SOFTBALL

HPU begins NCAA title defense as regional host

The softball field’s been under water. The outfield still is a bit mushy.

After all the recent rain, there is some work to be done at Howard Okita Field on the Hawaii Pacific campus.

And Sea Warriors coach Bryan Nakasone and staff are happy to be doing it this week.

HPU, the defending NCAA II champion, learned yesterday that it will play regional host for a second consecutive season. The Sea Warriors, ranked ninth nationally, are seeded first in the West II Regional, which starts Friday.

HPU (37-10 ) opens with Cal State San Bernardino (32-22) at noon and Dixie State (33-12) takes on Sonoma State (36-20) at 2:30 p.m.

The double-elimination tournament continues with three games Saturday, starting at 11 a.m. The championship is Sunday at noon, with the winner advancing to a Super Regional.

"We’re always happy when we can stay home," said Nakasone, named the PacWest coach of the year last week. "It’s an advantage in that our players can sleep in their own beds, can eat the foods they normally eat.

"We are slightly surprised (about hosting). It would have been easier for them to send us over there (the mainland) than to bring three teams here. But it worked out for us this year."

The Sea Warriors have played all three of the other teams in the regional. HPU defeated both CSU San Bernardino (8-6) and Sonoma State (3-1) en route to winning the Cal State Stanislaus Tournament last month.

The Sea Warriors also went 3-1 against Dixie State in PacWest play. The teams shared the conference title, but HPU earned the automatic NCAA berth via a tiebreaker.

"They’re all good teams with good pitching," Nakasone said. "We know Dixie well and they know us well."

A HPU-Dixie State matchup would feature the PacWest pitcher of the year in Sea Warrior juniors Breanne Patton and the player of the year in Red Storm sophomore first baseman Anna Cue.

BASKETBALL

Diarra declares for NBA Draft

Chaminade junior center Mamadou Diarra is entering next month’s NBA Draft and is being mentioned as a potential late second-round pick by some draft experts.

In his one season with the Silverswords, the 7-footer from Mali averaged 13.3 points and 10.0 rebounds with 84 blocked shots. He was an All-PacWest first-team pick as well as the conference newcomer of the year.

Chaminade vacancy draws interest

There’s still magic in the Chaminade name, as the number of applicants for the vacant men’s basketball job indicates.

Silverswords athletic director Bill Villa said about 160 applications have been received since Matt Mahar resigned to take the job at Assumption College last month. The deadline to apply is Friday.

"I’m not surprised by the interest," Villa said. "We’ll be looking to find the right fit and have a lot of research ahead. There’s a lot of names we’re not familiar with.

"The applicants might be surprised what the job is, though. We have a great week in Maui, but that’s followed by things like working out scheduling with Saint Louis (for McCabe Gym) and dealing with the other obstacles that we have."

Mahar also held the assistant athletic director’s position, but Villa said the hiring is strictly for a basketball coach.

TENNIS

BYU-Hawaii, HPU at nationals

The Hawaii Pacific men’s and women’s teams and Brigham Young-Hawaii women’s team open NCAA II tennis championship play in the Round of 16 tomorrow in Altamonte, Fla.

The second-ranked BYU-Hawaii women (27-0) take on Lynn (Fla.) and the fifth-ranked Sea Warriors women (18-5) face Grand Valley State.

The HPU men (10-8), ranked 22nd nationally, open with Concordia of New York.

The tournaments continue through Saturday’s finals.

BYU-Hawaii has won nine women’s titles since 1996, with four runner-up finishes and a third place. The Seasiders’ only losses the past three seasons have come at the national tournament, where they lost in the title match in 2008 and last year, and in the national semifinal in 2009.

BASEBALL

Vulcans sweep final awards

Hawaii-Hilo’s Kekoa Lea was named the player of the week and teammate Ronnie Loeffler the pitcher of the week in the final weekly conference honors of the baseball season.

Lee, a senior outfielder out of Moanalua, led the Vulcans to a 4-0 series sweep of Academy of Art. He hit .500 (8-for-16) with seven RBIs and four runs scored.

Loeffler, a senior right-hander out of Waiakea, allowed one run and two hits over seven innings, striking out six and walking two.

CALENDAR

TODAY

INTERNET RADIO
PacWest Magazine: 10 a.m., pacificwestsports.tv.
RADIO
Vulcan Update: 11:15 a.m., 850-AM.

TOMORROW

TENNIS
NCAA D-II women’s championship: Round of 16, BYU-Hawaii vs. Lynn, Hawaii Pacific vs. Grand Valley State, Altamonte Springs, Fla.
NCAA D-II men’s championship: Round of 16, Hawaii Pacific vs. Concordia (N.Y.), Altamonte Springs, Fla.

THURSDAY

RADIO
Vulcan Update: 11:15 a.m., 850-AM.
TENNIS
NCAA D-II women’s championship: Quarterfinals, Altamonte Springs, Fla.
NCAA D-II men’s championship: Quarterfinals, Altamonte Springs, Fla.

FRIDAY

SOFTBALL
NCAA West II Regional: CSU San Bernardno at Hawaii Pacific, noon; Dixie State vs. Sonoma State, 2:30 p.m.; ., Okita Field.
TENNIS
NCAA D-II women’s championship: Semifinals, Altamonte Springs, Fla.
NCAA D-II men’s championship: Semifinals, Altamonte Springs, Fla.

SATURDAY

SOFTBALL
NCAA West II Regional: Winners bracket semifinal, 11 a.m., losers bracket semifinal, 1:30 p.m.; losers bracket final, 4 p.m., Okita Field.
TENNIS
NCAA D-II women’s championship: Final, Altamonte Springs, Fla.
NCAA D-II men’s championship: Final, Altamonte Springs, Fla.

SUNDAY

NCAA West II Regional: Championship, noon (2:30 p.m. if needed), Okita Field.

BASEBALL

FINAL STANDINGS

x-conference champion

LAST WEEK
Hawaii-Hilo 9, Academy of Art 6
Hawaii-Hilo 6, Cademy of Art 3 (7)
Hawaii-Hilo 8, Academy of ARt 3
Hawaii-Hilo 7, Academy of Art 1 (7)
END REGULAR SEASON

SOFTBALL

ALL-PACWEST

FIRST TEAM

SECOND TEAM

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Anna Cue, Dixie State

PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Breanne Patton, HPU

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Janae Reyes, NDNU

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Claire Zampini, Grand Canyon

COACH OF THE YEAR
Bryan Nakasone, HPU

COMMISSIONER’S CUP

FINAL STANDINGS

1. Hawaii Pacific, 6.818 points average. 2. BYU-Hawaii,6.450. 3. Grand Canyon, 6.409. 4. Dixie State, 6.318. 5. Hawaii-Hilo, 5.136. 6. Academy of Art, 4.364. 7. Notre Dame de Namur, 3.500. 8. Chaminade, 3.150. 9. Dominican, 2.450.