Hilo goes 4-0 after a long absence from American softball. Vanguard’s Mari Ipatzi tossed a 2-hit shutout and Kendall Nakano hits .550 for Biola with 8 RBI. Concordia and Biola split to keep either from clinching the conference title a week early.

2026 Results/Schedule
2026 Standings
2026 Statistics

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Biola’s Kendall Nakano, Soph., UTL, 5-10, Norwalk, Calif.                                
Biola’s Kendall Nakano drove home eight Eagles in six Biola games last week to help her team split games with Dominican and Concordia. The sophomore power hitter went 11-for-20 (.550) with a home run. She had five RBI in a must-win 12-2 victory over Concordia that kept the Golden Eagles from clinching the PacWest regular season title. She twice had three hits in a game against Dominican as she raised her season average to .408.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Vanguard’s Mari Ipatzi, Sr., LHP, 5-4, Oxnard, Calif.                                                      
Vanguard’s Mari Ipatzi is the Pitcher of the Week after throwing a 2-hit gem in a 2-0 win over Azusa Pacific. It was a complete game effort for the lefthander, who gave up just three walks and fanned one Cougar. Both hits were singles as the senior dropped her season ERA to 1.97. She is 9-6 on the year with a save.
 
TEAM OF THE WEEK: The PacWest Team of the Week is the Hawaii Hilo Vulcans. UH Hilo hadn’t played a PacWest game since March 21, parlaying a break in the conference schedule to go to Japan on a goodwill tour. But they showed no rust in rolling through Menlo in four games, topping the Oaks by the scores of 5-1, 9-1, 5-2, 8-0. Lexie Tilton had five RBI in one of the games and pitchers Madison Rabe and Madi Lee combined in the pitching circle to hold the Oaks to four total runs in the series on the Big Island. The Vulcans are now 18-10 in the PacWest (third place) and 21-14 overall.

PACWEST NEWS AND NOTES: With less than two weeks left in the regular season, here is a look at the postseason race—which features an uber tight battle for the conference title, and a intense battle for the next two playoff spots.  Concordia now leads at 27-7, followed by Biola (26-7), just a half game back. Concordia finishes with a doubleheader next Saturday against Azusa Pacific while Biola finishes on the same day against Vanguard. The Eagles and Golden Eagles split their four games against each other this year.  In third place is Hawaii Hilo (18-10), fourth is Jessup (18-14) followed by Dominican (14-12), Azusa Pacific (16-18) and Vanguard (14-16). At the end of the regular season, the top four teams qualify for the PacWest tournament (May 5-7) in La Mirada at Biola University…Biola’s DJ Symons’ busy week logged 20.1 innings pitched, 16 hits, 3 earned runs, only two walks and 11 KI’s…Azusa Pacific’s Alexus Corona went 5-for-5 with four RBI in a win over Jessup…Menlo’s Emma Medina drove in eight runs in eight games…Chaminade’s Miranda Diaz was 6-for-13 on the week with four RBI and had a game winning RBI against Hawaii Pacific.

THIS WEEK IN THE PACWEST: Play continues tomorrow (Tuesday) with a battle between West Region powers CSU San Marcos at Concordia. On Thursday, Dominican visits Meno. On Friday, Hawaii Hilo is at Chaminade, and Saturday’s full slate shows Biola at Vanguard, Dominican at Jessup, and Concordia at Azusa Pacific. On Sunday, Hilo is at Hawaii Pacific. For the complete 226 PacWest schedule, click here.