Junior Lani Kaleikini won MCAL pitcher of the year for softball May 21.

The varsity softball team won the MCAL title earlier this month against their long-standing competition, Marin Catholic. Kaleikini played a vital role in the team’s success this season.

During her Redwood season, Kaleikini had a 1.62 ERA, 154 strikeouts, and 16 wins, the most strikeouts and wins of all other MCAL pitchers and second best ERA. Opposing batters have hit an underwhelming .167 again Kaleikini, which was a significant contribution to the team’s victory.

“I play softball pretty much all year round. I play in the summer for a club team and in the fall for a club team, then Redwood softball in the spring” Kaleikini said.

Her intense dedication to the sport is clear in her superior stats and intensity on the mound.

Kaleikini started playing varsity softball her freshman year, but has been playing on a club team for eight years. She puts in extra work outside of scheduled practices in order to stay ahead of her competition.

“She was a really huge factor in all our wins this season,” said starting left fielder and junior Chloe Lewis.

“You can see it during our games. She’s always enthusiastic and really supportive of our teammates.” Lewis said. “She’s always got a smile on her face,” she added.

Kalekini said her teammates were an important factor in her winning of the MCAL award.

She had to play an important leadership role going into her junior year because the majority of the starting players were underclassmen.

Freshman Sabrina Nunez was also awarded MCAL first-team, with 45 runs and a batting average of .450.