She’s fully entrenched

Jazmine Zamora, for one, is glad what happened in Vegas didn’t stay there.

A reserve for most of two years in the University of Hawaii softball program, the junior turned a pinch-hitting appearance in Las Vegas in February into a full-time spot in the Rainbow Wahine lineup.

“I’ve had shots in the past, but like (head coach Bob Coolen) says, you get your shot and if you hit the ball he’s going to keep putting you in,” Zamora said.

Zamora went 8-for-17 with two home runs in the Easton Desert Classic hosted by UNLV and has entrenched herself in the order with continued production at the plate and a steady glove at second base.

Zamora’s weekend in Las Vegas included a game-winning RBI in an upset of then-No. 7 Oregon. She’s maintained her hold on the starting spot and hit safely in nine of the past 10 games to raise her batting average to .300 overall and .391 in Big West play entering a conference series with UC Riverside starting Friday at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

That her breakout performance came in Las Vegas is perhaps appropriate for a player who sometimes enjoys adding a little flash to the game.

“I love making those plays you don’t see often, those diving plays. It’s just more fun,” she said.

It was also a trip to the desert during Zamora’s high school days that helped convince Coolen to recruit her to Hawaii. Coolen had gotten word of Zamora’s interest in UH and made it a point to catch her games in a tournament in Las Vegas.

“She had a double, made a diving play on a line drive in the hole, hit the ball hard every time she got up, was Miss Hustle on the field and had this real positive persona,” Coolen recalled and he sees some of that swagger re-emerging this spring as Zamora establishes herself as a regular contributor.

Zamora signed with UH although she didn’t play softball her senior year at Great Oak High School in Temecula, Calif., where she’d been better known as a basketball standout.

While she sat out the high school season, Zamora continued to play club softball and put basketball aside when she moved on to college. But she credits the crossover from hoops for helping with her range at second base, and her quick hands were a key in last weekend’s sweep of UC Davis. With freshman Loie Kesterson pitching to contact in the series finale, Zamora scooped up five of the 17 ground-ball outs in the win, including several sharp shots.

“Basketball was my first love, but I’ve found love in softball too,” she said. “They go together with me, they share a part of my heart.”

As does her family.

Zamora has maintained her on-field focus, though her mind is also occupied with matters back home as her mother deals with a medical hardship.

“I’m going through a lot, not being there to help her,” Zamora said, “but I’m just trying to do my best to still make her proud and one day go back and be able to take care of her.”

Kidney failure requires Cristina Zamora to undergo dialysis treatments. But she traveled to Hawaii for an early-season tournament and was in the stands at RWSS to see her daughter blast a go-ahead home run in UH’s 8-4 comeback win over Campbell on March 2.

“(Between games) she went to the car in the structure, did her dialysis and came back and she had finished in time to see me hit the ball,” Zamora said.

“I don’t only play for the love (of softball), I play for my mom. Just to play for her just so she’s happy. I know she’s going through a lot and I just want to ease any pain she has.”

Zamora said having relatives in Hawaii contributed to her decision to attend UH and she also plays for some who have become family since she’s enrolled at UH, including the grandfather of one of her closest friends.

“He’s big fan of softball,” Zamora said. “He’s in a wheelchair and he came to one of our games. It means a lot to me that he cares a lot about how I’m doing in softball and how I’m doing in school.”