Willmon hits her stride by not striding

By skipping a step, Lindsey Willmon took a lengthy stride toward earning a conference honor.

Willmon simplified her mechanics in the batter’s box going into the Hawaii softball team’s series at Cal Poly last week. The quieter approach led to a Big West Player of the Week performance for the sophomore outfielder.

"There was a little thing that turned into a big result," Willmon said.

"I decided to work on my weight transfer so instead of taking a big step like how I’ve always been, this time I just put the foot forward, stayed there and just kind of shifted my weight back and pushed it forward. … I wasn’t getting my weight forward in my swing. It helped my mechanics and everything else followed with it."

After the adjustment, Willmon hit .556 with a double in UH’s series win. She’ll look to maintain her forward momentum when the Rainbow Wahine (26-19, 7-5 Big West) return home to face UC Santa Barbara (15-30, 2-10).

An aggressive hitter by nature, Willmon raised her batting average to .283 overall and .306 in conference play with last week’s surge. The Big West award provided a confidence boost going into Friday’s 6 p.m. series opener against the Gauchos.

"I know I have to keep working, keep taking what the coaches say to heart and put it into practice," Willmon said.

UH enters the series alone in third place in the Big West, five games behind leader Cal State Northridge (12-0) and one back of Long Beach State (8-4). With nine games left — including a series at CSUN next week — the Wahine have little margin for error.

"We can’t be complacent," coach Bob Coolen said. "It’s one of those situations where we have to win out.

"Like I told our team (before last week’s series) are we contenders, are we pretenders or are we spoilers? We went 2-1 and we’re still contenders. …We just have to take care of business and try to finish on a strong note."

UCSB is in spoiler mode after dropping seven in a row, though they have four players hitting .350 or higher led by Jaqueline Hinojosa at .372. Shelby Wisdom, the Gauchos’ top pitcher the past two years, has been limited to hitting duty this season and leads the team with seven home runs.

Despite UCSB’s record, Willmon is aware of the potential in the Gauchos lineup, having shared the field with several members of the UCSB roster in youth and high school ball in northern California.

"It’s going to be really cool playing against them again and they’re good players," Willmon said. "I don’t want to take them lightly." 

Autographs, military day at the stadium

The Rainbow Wahine will hold an autograph session following Friday’s series opener, and Saturday’s doubleheader will be Military Appreciation Day.

The Wahine will wear military themed jerseys and Col. Lisa Ann Onaga of the U.S. Air Force will throw out the first pitch. The Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Navy Color Guard will participate in pregame ceremonies and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific Band will perform the national anthem.