Anderson gives HPU shot in the arm
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
Play for each other.
That has been the motto for the Hawai'i Pacific softball team, which turned around its record with six consecutive wins, including a sweep of Eastern Oregon Sunday.
And it's been the motto that has inspired freshman pitcher Mallory Anderson to forget about being a rookie and play to her ability.
In eight starts, she's won seven games, boasting a conference-leading 0.56 ERA. Her 2-0 performance in three appearances last week (including a save) earned her Pacific West Conference Player of the Week honors.
She pitched two complete games, one shutout, yielded just four hits and didn't allow an earned run in 13á innings.
But she won't take all the credit.
"We're really coming together as a team," said the 5-foot-9 freshman from Santa Ana, Calif. "We're getting to know each other, pulling for each other, and every aspect of our game has come together — hitting, fielding, pitching. We've just progressed so much from the beginning of the season."
The Sea Warriors started the season splitting series against Augustana College and CSU Stanislaus. They lost to Chaminade in the semifinals of the 3rd annual Ko'olau Klassic last month, but rebounded to win eight of the next nine games.
HPU's offense has been on a five-game hitting streak, scoring five or more runs since its last loss against Brigham Young University-Hawai'i March 16.
All this has been a confidence boost for the Sea Warriors (18-7 overall, 4-2 PacWest), who hit the road to face conference-leading Western New Mexico (19-7-1, 10-2) and Montana State Billings (0-14, 0-12).
"We have a lot of confidence coming off our six wins," Anderson said. "It'll be tough playing on (Western New Mexico's) home field and with the weather, but we'll be strong. We're really prepared."
Though the team is looking forward to its first road trip of the year — and facing one of its toughest competitors of the season — the players are not relishing the two weeks of travel.
"It's going to be a lot of different plane trips and bus rides," Anderson said.
Just getting to Western New Mexico will be an epic endeavor. They left last night on a red-eye flight to San Francisco, where they took a connecting flight to Los Angeles, where they took another flight to Arizona. From there, they took a three-hour bus ride to the Western New Mexico campus. Then they travel to Montana and back to California, where they will compete in the West Region Division II Tournament of Champions, hosted by CSU Stanislaus in Modesto, Calif.
"That's why I'm not really looking forward to (the trip)," Anderson said.
And this is when their team motto becomes mantra.
"We can't think of ourselves, but we have to think of each other," Anderson said about the inevitable disagreements and potential personality clashes on such a long road trip. "It's going to be hard, but we'll be fine. It'll be a bonding experience."
This week's schedule
Times HST
Softball
Today
UH-Hilo at Rollins College, 1 p.m., Winter Park, Fla.
Friday
HPU at Western New Mexico, 11 a.m. , Silver City, N.M.
BYUH at Montana State Billings, 10 a.m., Billings, Mont.
Saturday
BYUH at Montana State Billings, 9 a.m., Billings, Mont.
UH-Hilo at Tampa, 1 p.m., Tampa, Fla.
HPU at Western New Mexico, 8 a.m., Silver City, NM
Monday
UH-Hilo at Florida Southern, 11 a.m., Lakeland, Fla.
HPU at Montana State Billings, 11 a.m., Billings, Mont.
Men's tennis
Today
UC-San Diego at HPU, 11 a.m., Kailua Racquet Club
Friday
UH-Hilo at Rollins College, TBA, Greenlefe, Fla.
Saturday
BYUH at Alabama State, 7 a.m., Montgomery, Ala.
Monday
Azusa Pacific University at HPU, 9:30 a.m., O'ahu Club
Tuesday
BYUH at West Florida, 9:30 a.m., Pensacola, Fla.
Women's tennis
Today
UH-Hilo at Stetson University, 9:30 a.m., DeLand, Fla.
Friday
UH-Hilo at Rollins College, 9:30 a.m., Winter Park, Fla.
Saturday
BYUH at Alabama State, 7 a.m., Montgomery, Ala.
BYUH at Montevallo, 10:30 a.m., Montgomery, Ala.
Monday
HPU vs. Azusa Pacific University, 9:30 a.m., O'ahu Club
Tuesday
BYUH at West Florida, 9:30 a.m., Pensacola, Fla.
UH-Hilo vs. Azusa Pacific University, 10 a.m., Hale Koa
Chaminade vs. Azusa Pacific University, 1 p.m., Hale Koa
April 2-7
California Poly Pomona Tournament, TBA, Pomona, Calif.
