HONOLULU – For the third straight year, the Chaminade University softball team will open their regular season at the Concordia Kickoff Classic at Great Park in Irvine, California.
The Silverswords will face three opponents ranked in the NFCA Preseason Top 25 Poll including
Friday's opener against No. 14 Cal State San Marcos. Later in the evening, they'll face third-ranked Western Washington, a foe whom they played last season. The 'Swords will also take on No. 17 Cal State East Bay in Sunday's finale.
Head coach
Kent Yamaguchi, who enters his 21st season as the Silverswords' skipper, has 15 returnees from last season's disappointing nine-win season but will try to do so without two of the top hitters in program history in shortstop
Taryn Fujioka and catcher
Larchelle Tuifao, both of whom graduated last year.
Key to the 'Swords' success will likely be the pitching staff, all of whom return. After a splendid 2.86 team ERA in 2024, the team did not replicate the success in 2025 as it ballooned to 5.37. Senior southpaw
Bailey Benson (Cheney, Wash./Gonzaga Preparatory) will look to bounce back while
Ava Walker (Las Vegas/Faith Lutheran) hopes to find success in her second year.
Senior
Kamryn Lopez (Bakersfield, Calif./Garces Memorial) will also look to recapture her 2024 form where her 1.64 ERA and eight wins, mainly out of the bullpen, led the team.
Vanessa Pena (Paramount, Calif./Paramount), who also plays the outfield, threw 69 innings as a sophomore after tossing just 5 2/3 frames the previous year.
Gabriella Schneider (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Alta Loma) is the incumbent behind the plate after serving as Tuifao's understudy.
Versatile
Summer Buck (Honolulu/Kaiser), who played all three outfield positions then moved to third base late last season, is the top average hitter at .284 while
Miranda Diaz (Whittier, Calif./Cerritos College/California HS), who began the season at the hot corner, is CUH's top returning run producer with 23.
Taneia Simanu (Mililani, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mililani) and
Mimi Smith (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union) finished 2025 at first and second base, respectively.
Like Buck and Peña,
Elora Tonaki (Kapolei, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Hawai'i Technology Academy) can play both the infield and outfield, although Tonaki seemed to have found a home at second base before an injury midway through the year sidelined her the remainder of 2025.
Returnees
Isabel Rodriguez (Littleton, Colo./Columbine),
Mikala Jacobsen (Buena Park, Calif./Cypress College/Cypress HS) and Peña are outfield candidates as is
Alena Frost (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Castle).
Yamaguchi also has seven newcomers to the team who will compete for spots in the lineup card.
Following the Kickoff Classic, the 'Swords stay on the road for a non-conference twin bill at Cal State Dominguez Hills for a second straight year. They make their Silversword Field debut on Saturday, Feb. 14 with a doubleheader against Cal Poly Humboldt.
(Note: due to same-day home conflict with Chaminade women's and men's basketball, there will be no live coverage of the games.)
The team is then on the road for their Pacific West Conference opener at in-state rival University of Hawai'i Hilo the following Saturday. On Feb. 28, they meet their other rival, Hawai'i Pacific University, in a "road" twin bill at the Sharks' field at the Sand Island Softball Complex, located just 25 feet away from their own field.
Chaminade's road conference games includes the Southern California gauntlet including defending PacWest regular season champion Biola and long-time conference power CUI. The 'Swords wrap up the regular season with home series against HPU (April 18) and UH Hilo (April 24).
The PacWest Championships are from May 5-7 at Biola's Freedom Field, where the Silverswords hope they are one of the four teams playing for the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.
