IRVINE, Calif. – This week’s PacWest Softball Players of the Week are
Dominique Seva’aetasi (Academy of Art),
Hannah Rose Balke (Academy of Art) and
Brinell Kaleikini (Hawai’i Hilo). The awards are based on games played April 3-9.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Dominique Seva’aetasi (Academy of Art)
IF – Fr. – Seaside, Calif./Stevenson School
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Hannah Rose Balke (Academy of Art)
RHP – Fr. – Oak Park, Calif./Oak Park
Seva’aetasi and Balke led ART U to doubleheader sweeps over Chaminade and Holy Names, giving the Urban Knights seven wins in their last 10 PacWest games. Seva’aetasi hit .889 (8-9) in the four games with seven RBI and seven runs scored. She hit two doubles and two triples for a 1.556 slugging percentage, and stole two bases. She was 6-for-6 in the doubleheader against Chaminade, driving in seven runs and scoring six. Seva’aetasi has reached base safely in eight-consecutive games.
Balke earned the win in all four games, posting a 0.98 ERA in 21.1 innings and recording 20 strikeouts. She threw her second-career no-hitter, and the second in program history against a DII opponent, in the first game against Holy Names, striking out six and walking two in 5.0 innings. She made a relief appearance in the second game, allowing one run on four hits and striking out three in 4.2 innings. She entered the game in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and one out, and ART U ahead 6-4. She kept the Hawks off the scoreboard with a strike out and a ground out to second base. Balke leads the PacWest in innings pitched (154.2) and is third in strikeouts (111).
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Brinell Kaleikini (Hawai’i Hilo)
C/UT – Fr. – Honolulu/Moanalua
Kaleikini earned her second weekly conference honor in Hawai’i Hilo’s doubleheader sweep of Hawai’i Pacific on Sunday. In the first game, she hit a walk-off two-run home run with a full count and two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give the Vulcans a 3-1 win. In the second game, she broke up a no-hitter with a single down the left field line in the fifth inning.