MEDIA RELEASE

University of Hawaii at Hilo junior pitcher Amber Waracka has been selected the Pacific West Conference pre-season Pitcher of the Year while senior outfielder Kanani Numata and junior second baseman Aisha Sueda were first-team selections.

Waracka was a 2010 first-team all-Conference pitcher with a 17-8 record and a 1.98 ERA. She was on the mound for 152.0 innings, walked 63 and struck out 122. She also held opponents to a .211 batting average. In March, she became the first Vulcan softball player to be selected the Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week (March 8-14).

Numata has had a solid four-year career at UH Hilo. She started 48 of 50 games in 2010 and batted .346 with a team-high 34 RBI. She had six homeruns, a pair of triples and eight doubles. On the basepaths, she was 8 of 9 in stolen base attempts. Early in the season, she was a second-team 2010 MSUB Desert Stinger selection.

Although she started 50 of 51 games in 2010, Sueda had another quiet year although she batted .316 with 19 RBI, a triple and nine doubles.

The Vulcans were selected to finish fourth in the nine-team PacWest race with Dixie State College taking the championship. Dixie State barely nudged out defending NCAA Division II Champion Hawaii Pacific University by a point. They are followed by Grand Canyon University, Hawaii Hilo, Academy of Art University, Notre Dame de Namur University, Chaminade University, Brigham Young University-Hawaii and Dominican University.