Menjivar’s Plate Power Leads to PacWest Award

University of Hawai’i at Hilo junior Cristina Menjivar. UH-Hilo photo.

Cristina Menjivar got plenty of opportunities to perfect her home run trot on Saturday.

Menjivar, a junior utility player, cranked three home runs on Saturday in a two-game series split against Dominican University. Her power punch earned recognition from the PacWest Conference as its softball Player of the Week for games played between Feb. 29 and March 6.

In the first game, a 6-3 loss, Menjivar cranked a two-run home run over the center field fence in the sixth inning, but she couldn’t do enough to get UH-Hilo back from a 6-1 deficit. She batted 1-for-3 in the opener.

Menjivar’s bat could not be silenced in the second game. She batted 3-for-3, hitting a solo homer in the first inning and a two-run home run in the fourth to push UH-Hilo to a 10-2 five-inning victory over Dominican.

For the series, Menjivar batted 4-for-6 (.667) with five runs batted in and five runs scored.

On the season, Menjivar is batting .416 with four home runs and 18 runs batted in. She is on an eight-game hitting streak and is tied for second in the PacWest with 30 hits on the season.

Azusa Pacific’s Narissa Garcia was named Pitcher of the Week, and Chaminade’s Kayla Henmi was given the Newcomer of the Week award.

Next up for UH-Hilo is a doubleheader against Holy Names University on Saturday at the Vulcan Softball Field. First pitch of game one is scheduled for Noon.