Early Baseball Slugger Now Starts For HPU Softball Team
By Jack Danilewicz
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Caira Pires admits she didn’t mind being able to cut a few corners in her first year playing baseball. After all, she was only 6 and her work ethic was nowhere near what it would become.
“I was pretty much the only one (girl on an all-boys team). I got slack a lot - they let me get away with a lot.”
Fast-forward to this past summer, and the story was very different for Pires, who was preparing for her freshman year at Hawaii Pacific University. She knew it would-n’t be easy to get playing time as a first-year player.
That meant endless work on her batting.“I was told by a lot of people I know and other coaches that if I could get my hitting down, there would be a spot for me in the lineup. So far, I couldn’t be happier.”
Indeed, 42 games into her college softball career, Pires is thriving nicely, having started every game since the Sea Warriors opened the season. The former Kalaheo standout went into last weekend’s series with Chaminade hitting .286 with a slugging percentage of .405. She also has four home runs to go with a fielding percentage of .912.
Hawaii Pacific is in the midst of a memorable season that includes a 22-4 record in the Pacific West Conference and an impressive 19-3 road record. Success on the road neatly summarizes the family atmosphere that has aided the women in playing away from home.
“We’re all on the same page,” Pires said. “Since the team has been doing well, no one wants to lose, and we’re all showing up every day to play.”
Pires started the season like any freshman - just trying to get playing time.When she started the alumni game Feb. 14, it was a good sign, she thought. Then, she found herself in the lineup in HPU’s Pac West opener against Dixie State two weeks later, and she knew she was going to be a starter.
“No, not at all,” she responded when asked whether she thought she could start as a freshman. “I honestly didn’t think I’d be playing as much.”
Pires’ own upward mobility is part of her grand plan - she switched from baseball to softball at age 10, and while she also played basketball and volleyball, “softball is pretty much my life.
“It grew on me over the years. In high school my freshman year, when I found myself playing with seniors, I began to really take it seriously and worked really hard on it.
“Softball - I don’t think I could do it (college) without it,” she added. “Softball has been so much fun. You meet a lot of different people. College is a lot more fun (than high school softball). It’s more exciting, and I’ve never been on a team that has jelled so well together.”
Pires has settled in at third base, and can finally focus full-time on playing there having been the starting pitcher at Kalaheo most games. In outside leagues, she has sometimes played third.
“I’m getting the hang of it,” she said. “I could be adjusting more, but I’ve adjusted. (College-level softball) can be draining - a lot of time is spent on your school work - but I take it as a challenge to be able to play under any condition.”
Pires and the Sea Warriors’ next challenge is the post-season. HPU is waiting for pairings to be revealed for the NCAA Division II Tournament.
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