STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific softball team travels to the Aloha State to compete in the Hawaii Spring Fling Tournament from Friday, March 3 to Sunday, March 5, at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
Pacific will open the tournament on Friday with a doubleheader against St. Bonaventure at 4 p.m. and Niagara at 6 p.m. The team will face off against Utah at 6 p.m. and Hawaii at 8 p.m. on Saturday and finish the tournament with a single game against Niagara at noon on Sunday.
Carly Lucchetti has paced the Tigers (2-9) through the first 11 games of the season, posting a .300 batting average, a team-leading 12 hits, and three stolen bases. Lucchetti recorded two hits, including an extra-base hit, and two RBI against Nevada in the second game of the doubleheader last weekend.
Rian Dirmeyer and Reagan Hamilton provided the power against the Wolf Pack as the duo recorded the season's first home runs. Regan Hamilton put the Tigers on top in the early stages of the opening game against the Wolf Pack as she sent a towering two-run home run over the left-center field fence in the bottom half of the second inning.
With the Tigers trailing the Wolf Pack, 6-2, in the first game of the doubleheader, Dirmeyer recorded her first long ball of the season, a solo home run in the bottom half of the fourth inning to start a midgame rally, cutting the deficit in half, 6-3.
Amiyah Aponte has emerged as the Tigers' ace in the season's early stages, leading the team with a 1.15 earned-run average. In five appearances, Aponte has accumulated a 1-2 record and has allowed only three earned runs in 18.1 innings pitched.
St. Bonaventure enters the tournament on a five-game losing streak after falling to Hawaii, 2-0, in the final game of the Bank of Hawaii Invitational on Sunday, Feb. 26. Juanita Wolak leads the Bonnies (0-5) offensively, recording a .500 batting average with five hits in 10 at-bats. Wolak, Olivia Moon, and Brooke Bobbey lead the team with two RBI.
Niagara has lost three of its first four games of the season and dropped two straight decisions to Kent State and UMBC two weekends ago at the UMBC Tournament. The Purple Eagles (1-3) have two team members batting over .300, with Shayna Myshrall leading the way with a .333 batting average.
In two appearances in the circle, Julia Thompson leads the Purple Eagles with a 0.00 earned run average while recording seven strikeouts in 5.2 innings pitched.
Pacific will face off against St. Bonaventure and Niagara for the first time in program history.
Utah enters the weekend winners of four of its last five games. The Utes (11-4) earned wins over Texas Tech, LMU, Ohio State and Long Beach State at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last weekend in Palm Springs.
Haley Denning leads the Utes offensively through 15 games, recording a team-high 22 hits and a .458 batting average. Serving as the Utes' leadoff hitter, Denning has recorded a hit in nine-straight games and leads the team with 14 stolen bases.
Mariah Lopez guides a pitching staff that has accumulated a 1.65 earned-run average and holds opponents to a .203 batting average. Earning eight starts in the circle, Lopez has recorded a team-best 1.09 earned run average and has struck out 55 batters in 45 innings pitched.
Pacific has faced Utah once in the last 15 seasons, as the Tigers earned a 4-1 win over the Utes on March 3, 2008.
Hawaii, serving as the host for the tournament, enters the weekend on a two-game winning streak to close the Bank of Hawaii Invitational. Haley Johnson leads the Rainbow Wahine (9-6) with a team-leading .370 batting average with 17 hits in 46 at-bats.
Mya'Liah Bethea has provided the power in the first 15 games of the season, leading the team in home runs with six.
Since the 2007 season, Pacific has accumulated a 1-5 record against Hawaii. The lone win for the Tigers in the last six contests came on March 8, 2014, in a 4-2 victory on the road.
For more information about the 2023 season and future events, follow Pacific softball on social media and download the Pacific Athletics mobile app.
