IRVINE, Calif. -- Hawai`i Hilo continued its undefeated start to the 2021 season with a sweep of Chaminade that started with a 2-1 win in 10 innings on Saturday.
 
Markie Okamoto got the game-winning hit as the first batter in the bottom of the 10th inning to drive in the game-winning run. The Vulcans are now on an eight-game winning streak dating back to last season and have a 3.5-game lead over Chaminade in second place in the Hawai`i Pod standings.
 
Azusa Pacific swept a doubleheader against Biola to move into first place of the SoCal Pod standings to start the week, but then Concordia won three of four games against the Cougars to become the pod’s new leader in the standings. Erika Morris pitched 10.2 innings with one earned run allowed, two strikeouts and a win, and she also hit a home run in the Eagles’ win on Saturday.
 
Academy of Art and Holy Names faced each other for the first time in the NorCal pod and the series ended in a split after some impressive performances with the bats. Lauryn Henderson had two home runs and 13 total bases for Academy of Art, while Lyndsey Widner went 7 for 14 with a home run and four runs for the Hawks after getting Player of the Week recognition last week. Widner is now the league leader in batting average, slugging and on-base percentage.
 
The conference got its first taste of inter-pod play with Biola hosting Dominican for a four-game set. The Eagles won the first three games before the Penguins came back to win the series finale, 2-1.
 
Weekly awards for the week of March 15-21
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Aly Cerda, Holy Names
C, Jr., 5-6 -- Selma, Calif.
Cerda extended her hitting streak to seven games as she helped the Hawks win two games against Academy of Art last week. She is Holy Names’ second-consecutive junior catcher to win this award. All of Cerda’s hits were extra-base hits as she hit three home runs and two doubles in four games. In the third game of the series, Cerda went 2 for 3 with a double, home run, walk, two runs and two RBIs. Cerda also hit a two-run home run in the series finale.
 
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Paige Austin, Biola
RHP, Jr., 5-5 -- Los Alamitos, Calif.
Austin made three pitching appearances last week and earned two wins as she threw 20 innings with just two earned runs allowed. Austin struck out 28 batters in the three outings. In her first start against Dominican, Austin struck out 11 batters in a 6-1 victory over the top team in the NorCal Pod standings. In her next appearance, Austin threw a three-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts and no walks in just 91 pitches for her fourth win of the season. The junior has now won five PacWest Pitcher of the Week awards and has 57 strikeouts with just 10 walks this season.
 
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Sara Bhatt, Hawai`i Hilo
P, Fr., 5-9 -- Murrieta, Calif.
For the third week in a row, the PacWest Freshman of the Week is a native of Murrieta, California, as Bhatt helped lead the Vulcans to a sweep against Chaminade. Bhatt made her collegiate debut against Chaminade last week and threw 9.1 innings with no runs allowed. She pitched in three different games and earned the win in each of those games. Bhatt struck out eight batters and only allowed four hits. In the second game, she had five strikeouts in five innings.