Kimberlee Souza is back at bat

When Kimberlee Souza tore her ACL more than two years ago, she couldn’t see any positives to come from it.

Sitting in the dugout under the Las Vegas sun surrounded by her Washington teammates over the weekend, she finally found one.

The fifth-year senior, who had to sit out the entire 2014 season recovering from the knee injury, homered in the first two games of the UNLV Sportco Kick Off Classic. She hit .467 (7-for-15) with three homers and nine RBIs and helped the Huskies go 5-0 with two victories over top-15 teams.

She could be playing overseas right now or maybe starting what she hopes is a career in coaching one day.

Instead, because she took a medical redshirt, she’s got one more year to try to lead the Huskies back to the College World Series.

“This is a good bunch to be around,” Souza, a 2011 ‘Iolani alumna, said Tuesday. “I’m actually glad I have an extra year. Everything happens for a reason.”

That reason was hard to figure out in the fall of 2013. Souza had just led the Huskies to a third-place finish at the College World Series, falling one game short of the finals.

One of her eight home runs hit her sophomore season was a walk-off in extra innings in the opening game of the CWS against Nebraska. She also had the go-ahead RBI hit in the sixth inning against Michigan in the Huskies’ other win in the tournament.

Souza had started all 120 games in her first two years at UW and was well on her way to a perfect four-year college career at a big-time university when the injury occurred.

She had never in her life suffered a significant injury.

“I don’t think it was that difficult of a process physically,” Souza said. “It’s probably harder mentally having always played and having to see the field from a different perspective. You’re seeing the game from the other side of the fence.”

Souza returned for the 2015 season and once again moved positions. She was primarily a shortstop as a freshman and a third baseman as a sophomore. Now the Huskies had a void at catcher due to another ACL injury, so Souza filled in.

“It’s just whatever we need,” Souza said. “We’re always moving (players) around. (Coach Heather Tarr) really looks for athletes and people who are willing to do anything for the team.”

This season is the first time Souza won’t move positions. She’s splitting time at catcher and will DH when she’s not in the field.

The Huskies jumped from 20th to No. 11 in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll after an impressive opening weekend.

Washington beat No. 14 Oklahoma 10-3 and No. 20 Minnesota 7-2. UW outscored its five opponents by a combined score of 54-13.

“We’re definitely a younger team this year,” Souza said. “Like all of the (past) teams, we work hard and keep working to get (to the CWS).”

Washington plays its first 15 games on the road before hosting the Husky Classic at the beginning of March.

UW is one of four Pac-12 teams ranked in the top 11 this week.

The team success Souza has enjoyed while at UW is one of the things she’s enjoyed the most.

“It’s been a great experience being coached by Coach Tarr and being able to be around my teammates the whole time,” Souza said.

The Huskies added a second player from Hawaii this season. Freshman Rachel Ogasawara, a 2015 Kamehameha graduate, is one of three catchers the Huskies added to the roster to challenge for Souza’s spot next season.

AROUND THE NATION

Vega bounces back to clobber ’Bows

Stanford junior Gabriel Vega bounced back from one of the worst matches of his career to dominate Hawaii and finish off a stunning two-match sweep of the Rainbow Warriors last weekend at Maples Pavillon.

The 2012 ‘Iolani graduate hit -.125 with one kill and two errors in eight attempts on Friday, but the Cardinal still managed to sweep UH.

Saturday, Vega bounced back with a match-high 17 kills, hitting .405 with five digs and three block assists in a 25-17, 18-25, 28- 26, 25-15 victory.

The Cardinal jumped to No. 4 in the latest AVCA rankings and are tied for the MPSF lead at 8-2 in conference play.

Cardinal sophomore Evan Enriques, a 2014 Kamehameha-Hawaii alumnus, had a match-high 14 digs and an assist on Saturday.

BASEBALL

>> Tanner Nishioka, ‘Iolani ’13: The Pomona-Pitzer junior hit .429 (6-for-14) with six walks, a double, three stolen bases and five runs scored to help the Sagehens finish 4-0 after opening weekend.

>> Jayse Bannister, Hawaii Prep ’12: The Holy Names (Calif.) left-hander struck out two in a perfect ninth inning to earn the save in a 7-5 win over Montana State-Billings on Saturday.

>> Trevor Hirano, Maryknoll ’15: The St. Martin’s (Wash.) second baseman drew three walks, stole a base and scored three times in a season-opening 12-7 win over Whitman (Wash.) on Saturday.

>> Trey Saito, Mid-Pacific ’13: The Cal Lutheran right-hander allowed three hits over seven shutout innings with one walk and six strikeouts in a 7-0 win over Hendrix on Friday. He started at catcher in Sunday’s 14-2 win over Sul Ross State and was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

>> Gabe Gunter, King Kekaulike ’13: The Cal Lutheran outfielder went 2-for-3 with a double, run and two RBIs in the win over Sul Ross State.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

>> Justin Kam, Punahou ’15: The Cal Lutheran freshman had seven points, three rebounds and a steal in 27 minutes off the bench of a 63-58 loss to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

>> Dawnyelle Awa, Konawaena ’12: The Washington State point guard scored a game-high 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting with six rebounds, four assists and two steals in a 64-62 loss to Southern California on Sunday.

>> Nayla Long, Mililani ’13: The Charleston Southern junior had seven points, an assist and a steal in a 61-50 loss to Radford on Saturday.

>> Hailey Ann Maeda, Punahou ’11: The Whitman (Wash.) forward had eight points, 11 rebounds, a block and a steal before fouling out of a 68-61 loss to George Fox on Saturday.

>> Casey Poe, KS-Hawaii ’14: The Whitman (Wash.) sophomore guard scored a team-high 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field and added four rebounds and three assists against George Fox.

>> Alex Masaquel,‘Iolani ’13: The William & Mary junior scored a team-high 14 points on 7-for-8 shooting and added five rebounds and an assist in 30 minutes of a 69-53 loss to Delaware on Sunday.

MEN’S GOLF

>> Alex Chiarella, Seabury Hall ’12: The San Diego senior tied for the low round of the day on Tuesday, firing a 5-under 66 to move up 30 spots to a tie for 12th place at 1 under heading into the final round of The Prestige at PGA West.

WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS

>> Kristi Hayashida, home school ’13: The Seattle Pacific junior finished third on the beam with a 9.825 in a loss to UC Davis on Friday.

>> Tracie Villanueva, Moanalua ’13: The Seattle Pacific junior scored a 9.525 on beam and an 8.85 on bars against UC Davis.

>> Jenna Frowein, Punahou ’12: The Stanford senior scored a 9.775 on the floor exercise in a win over Arizona on Saturday.

SOFTBALL

>> Mysha Sataraka, Punahou ’12: The UCLA senior started the season on fire at the Aggie Classic, batting .615 (8-for-13) with a double, two homers, four walks and 10 RBIs to help the Bruins finish 4-1 in the tournament.

>> Haley Nakamura, Lahainaluna ’13: The New Mexico State shortstop hit .500 (7-for-14) with three walks, a triple, six runs and three RBIs to help the Aggies go 5-0 in the New Mexico State Invitational over the weekend.

>> Brennalyn Nakamura, Lahainaluna ’12: The New Mexico State outfielder was 4-for-10 with two doubles, two walks, three stolen bases and five runs scored in the NMSU Invitational.

>> Fahren Glackin, Kamehameha ’14: The New Mexico State sophomore, who transferred from UNLV, went 3-for-5 with a walk, double, run scored and two RBIs in the NMSU Invitational.

>> Reina Furuya, Punahou ’12: The Penn State senior batted .333 (4-for-12) with a walk, run, RBI and stolen base in five games as the Nittany Lions went 1-4 at the Kick-Off Classic.

>> Mikela Manewa, Kapolei ’12: The Oregon State senior went 3-for-16 with a double, five runs scored and two RBIs to help the Beavers finish 4-1 at the Kajikawa Classic over the weekend.

>> Jadelyn Yadao-Valdez, Mililani ’14: The UNLV sophomore hit .333 (4-for-12) with two runs and two RBIs to help the Rebels go 4-2 in the Sportco Kickoff Classic over the weekend.

>> Chrissi Omalza, Moanalua ’14: The UNLV sophomore singled home two runs as a pinch hitter in a 7-3 win over South Dakota on Monday.

>> Krystin Kubo, Leilehua ’12: The Weber State senior hit .267 (4-for-15) with a homer and three RBIs to help the Wildcats finish 4-2 in the season-opening Titan Classic over the weekend.

>> Destinee Chang, Kailua ’12: The Concordia (Ore.) second baseman went 4-for-8 with a walk and two runs scored in a doubleheader split with Azusa Pacific on Saturday.

WOMEN’S SWIMMING

>> Cara Jernigan, Kealakehe ’14: The Idaho sophomore won the 200 breaststroke in a time of 2:38.69 and placed second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:12.78 in a dual-meet loss to Northern Arizona on Feb. 6.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

>> Micah Ma’a, Punahou ’15: The UCLA freshman had 25 assists, nine kills, six block assists, five digs and four aces in a five-set loss to UC Irvine on Friday. He came back with 22 assists, three kills, four digs, two block assists and an ace in a sweep of UC San Diego on Saturday.

>> John Eddins, King Kekaulike ’12: The Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J.) senior setter had a team-high 48 assists, six digs, two block assists, a kill and an ace in a five-set loss to New Paltz on Sunday.

>> CJ Rilveria, King Kekaulike ’13: The Lourdes junior had a match-high 13 digs, two aces and two assists in a sweep of Lawrence Tech on Feb. 10.

>> Jared Shirai, Kaimuki ’01: The Hope International (Calif.) junior had 13 assists and seven digs in a five-set victory over Holy Names last Friday.

>> Kaili Schumacher-Lagundino, Kauai ’12: The Holy Names senior had a match-high 18 digs and three assists against Hope International.

>> John Mayer, Maryknoll ’13: The Holy Names junior middle had two kills and two block assists against Hope International.

WOMEN’S WATER POLO

>> Sarina Shibata, Punahou ’12: The Villanova senior scored a team-high 10 goals in five games over the weekend as the Wildcats finished 1-4 at the Princeton Invitational.

>> Naomi Ng, Punahou ’12: The Villanova senior finished second on the team with nine goals in the Princeton Invitational.

>> Courtney Miller, Punahou ’12: The UC San Diego goalkeeper made 51 saves over four matches of the Triton Invitational, including 21 in an 11-3 win over Indiana in the opener as UCSD finished 2-2 in its own tournament.

>> Lauren Boyer, Punahou ’13: The UCSD junior scored eight goals in the Triton Invitational, including a team-high five in a 12-11 win over UC Santa Barbara on Sunday.

MEN’S WRESTLING

>> David Terao, Mid-Pacific ’11: The American University (Washington, D.C.) senior, ranked No. 14 at 125 pounds, won by pinfall in 30 seconds to help the Eagles beat Old Dominion 19-18 on Sunday.

>> Kevin Corbett, Radford ’11: The Doane College (Neb.) senior won by majority decision at 184 pounds in a dual-meet loss to Briar Cliff on Feb. 10.

>> Zen Ikehara, Kamehameha ’13: The Air Force sophomore was victorious by a 3-1 decision at 174 pounds in a win over New Mexico Highlands last Thursday.

Compiled by Star-Advertiser’s Billy Hull. To submit an athlete for publication, email bhull@staradvertiser.com.