Despite losing to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 softball championship game on Saturday, Jocelyn Alo and the defending national champion Sooners are the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament beginning this week.
Alo, a 2017 Campbell alumna, has played in the Women’s College World Series every season she’s been with the Sooners, who have won three of the past five national titles.
Alo, who was unanimously voted as the Big 12 Player of the Year for the second year in a row, enters the NCAA Tournament hitting .481 in 51 games with 11 doubles, 25 homers and 62 RBIs. She has drawn 44 walks and been hit by a pitch seven times.
Alo leads the NCAA with a 1.135 slugging percentage and a .624 on-base percentage and is second in batting average and third in home runs.
She set the NCAA record with her 96th career home run against Hawaii in March and has 113 entering postseason play.
Oklahoma, which earned a national seed for the 15th consecutive season, will host Prairie View A&M on Friday in the first round.
Alo is one of six players who graduated from high school in Hawaii listed on the roster of an NCAA Tournament team. The others are:
>> Keila Kamoku, Kamehameha ’21: The Ole Miss middle infielder has played in 36 games and made 19 starts in her freshman season, batting .222 with four doubles, a homer and 12 RBIs with eight runs scored. Since breaking into the starting lineup for the past 13 games, Kamoku is hitting .242 with three doubles and eight RBIs. Ole Miss will make its sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Los Angeles Regional, opening with No. 3 seed Loyola Marymount on Friday.
>> Aliya Harmon, Baldwin ’20: The Weber State sophomore has appeared in 30 games this season, primarily as a pinch runner, for the Wildcats (38-10), scoring nine runs and stealing three bases while going hitless in three at-bats with one walk. Weber State, which won all three games in the Big Sky Tournament without allowing a run, is the No. 3 seed in the Seattle Region and will play No. 2 seed Texas in the first round on Friday.
>> Saree-Ann Kekahuna, Baldwin ’19: The Weber State junior has not played this season.
>> Liliana Thomas, Maryknoll ’21: The Arizona State freshman catcher has appeared in eight games this season and made one start. She’s hitless in four at-bats with one walk for the Sun Devils (39-9), who won the Pac-12 and will host Cal State Fullerton on Friday in the first round.
>> Taylor Sullivan, Kamehameha-Hawaii ’18: The UCLA junior catcher has not played this season for the Bruins (43-8), who are the No. 5 overall seed and will host Grand Canyon in the first round on Friday.
MORE SOFTBALL
>> Marissa Nishihara, Mid-Pacific ’20: The Saint Mary’s (Calif.) sophomore outfielder was named to the All-West Coast Conference first team on Tuesday. Nishihara ended the conference slate as the Gaels’ most productive hitter, batting .309 overall with a team-best 21 runs scored. In WCC play, Nishihara hit .400 with five multi-hit games, including a four-hit game against San Diego on April 9.
BASEBALL
>> Jonah Hurney, Hawaii Prep ’17: The Virginia Tech junior left-hander improved to 5-1 this season, earning the win with three innings of relief allowing two unearned runs on two hits with one walk and three strikeouts in a 6-4 victory over No. 7 Louisville on Sunday to clinch the series.
>> Jacob Hinderleider, ‘Iolani ’19: The Davidson junior shortstop finished 6-for-13 with a walk, a double, a homer, two stolen bases, three RBIs and six runs scored in a three-game sweep of Saint Joseph’s over the weekend. The Wildcats have won nine in a row and are a program-best 40-9 this season and 18-3 in Atlantic 10 Conference play with three games left.
>> Logan Williams, Punahou ’17: The North Dakota State senior designated hitter finished 5-for-11 with three walks, a double, five runs scored and two RBIs in a three-game sweep of Northern Colorado over the weekend.
>> Shaydon Kubo, ‘Iolani ’19: The Northern Colorado sophomore second baseman finished 5-for-17 with a walk, two doubles, three runs scored and five RBIs against the Bison.
>> Justice Yamashita, Maryknoll ’20: The St. Martin’s (Wash.) sophomore right-hander was named to the All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference first team last Wednesday. Yamashita led the conference in complete games (five) and strikeouts (71) and was third with a 3.68 ERA. He finished with a 6-4 overall record and was named the league’s pitcher of the week twice. He pitched five or more innings in nine of his 11 starts.
>> Aaron Renaud, Saint Louis ’17: The St. Martin’s (Wash.) first baseman was a unanimous selection to the All-GNAC first team, leading the Saints in most offensive categories. Renaud ranked first on the team in batting average (.333), runs (25), hits (49), home runs (seven) and RBIs (27). Renaud made the all-conference second team as a freshman in 2019.
>> Bryant Nakagawa, Maui ’17: The St. Martin’s (Wash.) senior catcher was named to the All-GNAC second team for the second straight season. Nakagawa hit .325 with six doubles and 27 hits in 33 games and led the team with a .467 on-base percentage.
>> Matthew Dunaway, Maryknoll ’17: The Western Oregon junior right-hander earned honorable mention All-GNAC honors. Dunaway split time as a starter and a reliever this season, striking out 47 in 28 2/3 innings. He posted a 3.14 ERA with three saves and opponents hit just .121 off of him.
———
Stats compiled by Billy Hull, Star-Advertiser. To submit an athlete for publication, email: bhull@staradvertiser.com.
