The Big West Softball Field Player of the Week smacked four home runs while the Pitcher of the Week collected a pair of victories in successful tournament stints.
Wartner An Extra Base Hit Machine For Hawai‘i
Eight of Kayla Wartner’s (Escondido, Calif./Escondido HS) 11 hits went for extra bases as the Hawai‘i senior notched Big West Softball Field Player of the Week honors, helping her team to a 4-2 record at the Wilson/DeMarini Desert Classic.
Wartner slammed four home runs and added four doubles as part of a stellar week at the plate. She finished a six-game stretch 11-for-20 (.550) with eight runs scored and a team-leading 10 RBI. Wartner also walked four times and had a .625 on-base percentage to go along with a 1.350 slugging percentage for the week.
The catcher/outfielder belted a pair of home runs and knocked in four runs, including a walk-off two run blast to help UH to an 11-10 win over Utah State. It was her third career multiple home run game as she helped the Rainbow Wahine overcame a seven-run deficit.
She tallied a pair of hits in a loss to nationally ranked UCLA, then homered for the third time in the tournament in an 8-0 shutout of Seattle. She concluded the tournament with a 3-for-3 performance, adding a pair of doubles with her fourth roundtrip per in an 11-0 rout of Portland State.
Wartner hit safely in all six games with multiple hits in four of the six.
Others nominated: Sierra Hyland (Cal Poly); Missy Taukeiaho (Cal State Fullerton); Katie Hooper (CSUN); Julia Lombardi (Long Beach State); Alexis Carney (UC Davis); Karina Romero (UC Riverside); Arianna Palomares (UC Santa Barbara)
Ponce Wins Twice at Fresno State Kick-Off Tournament
Junior Chelsea Ponce (Norwalk, Calif./Cajon HS) helped UC Riverside to its best start since 2006 with a pair of wins at the Fresno State Kick-Off Tournament, earning her Big West Softball Pitcher of the Week accolades.
The right-hander allowed just two earned runs in 20.1 innings pitched, going 2-1 while holding the opposition to a .176 batting average. The Highlanders improved to 6-4 on the year – the program’s best start since the 2006 campaign.
Ponce picked up the win in her first start of the tournament, a 6.0 inning stint against Fresno State in which she allowed two runs and four hits, and struck out four in the 4-2 triumph. The Highlanders snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Bulldogs in the process.
She pitched the final 7.0 innings in a 13-inning, four-hour marathon win against Sacramento State, scattering four hits and allowing three unearned runs while striking out five.
In a return matchup against the Hornets, Ponce got the hard luck loss as she Hornets touched her for one unearned eighth-inning run in a 1-0 extra innings defeat. She held Sacramento State at bay for the duration, again yielding just four hits.
Ponce has yet to allow more than four hits in any game this year, and has given up just four earned runs in 43.1 innings for a 0.65 ERA.
Others nominated: Christina Washington (Cal State Fullerton); Zoe Conley (CSUN); Christian Carbajal (Long Beach State); Leah Munden (UC Davis); Brittany Hitchcock (Hawai‘i)