Junior Breanne Patton unexpectedly has been doing double duty for Hawaii Pacific, the defending NCAA Division II softball champion. When a commitment from a pitcher fell through for this season, the Sea Warriors turned to the 2009 Campbell High graduate who had pitched and played first for the Sabers.

"I haven’t pitched since high school, but I want to help the team," said Patton, an all-state pick who was 8-3 her senior season. "I’m still getting comfortable. But I have an amazing defense behind me. Without them I would be nothing. I’m so lucky."

Patton is perfect so far, on the mound and in the field. She is 6-0 in six appearances, with a 0.92 ERA, and has a 1.000 fielding percentage with no errors in 53 chances.

"She’s very strong," said assistant coach Howard Okita, who recruited Patton. "When we lost a player, we knew (Patton) could step in for us."

Patton had 10 strikeouts in 10 innings last week in two wins over Chaminade. She also was 6-for-8 at the plate against the Silverswords.

"Hitting … I’m working on it," she said. "And I do like to pitch. But I came in as a first baseman."

The 21-year-old Patton is a biology major with thoughts of medical school. Her favorite classes this semester are psychology — "which has nothing to do with my major," she said — and organic chemistry.

"It’s hard, but I really like it," Patton said. "We’re learning about creating reactions in the lab. I don’t know what I’ll do with it, but I have watched CSI and said, ‘I know how to do that.’ "

Just like pitching. She didn’t expect that skill would come in handy during her collegiate career, but it definitely has as the nationally ranked Sea Warriors look to repeat.