Led by a freshman at the plate and a sophomore on the pitcher’s circle, Hunter’s Lady Wolverines softball team is taking giant leaps and bounds in a number of ways. 

Despite having only a short preseason to prepare for the upcoming year, Hunter is off to its best start since the 2022-23 season. 

This was a team that went 9-15 overall, reached the 5A Super Regional last year and came back wanting to compete even better than their 3-6 record in a difficult Region 4 showed. 

Did they get love back from Region 4 coaches going into this season? Not necessarily. The Lady Wolverines were picked to finish fourth out of eight teams. Did they take that personally, to coin a famous Michael Jordan phrase? 

Maybe. Hunter has put those predictions to rest thus far by absolutely blasting the cowhide off the ball in games. 

Freshman Isabella Mailo leads the team with five home runs thus far, and sophomore Leila Aiono isn’t far behind that number with four, respectively. It doesn’t end there for these Lady Wolverines though; they have five players that have hit at least a home run or more. 

The other impressive stat here is that Mailo leads the state of Utah in on-base percentage—hers is .821 going into Spring Break. But, Aiono and senior Kenya Lapuaho are .740 and .700. All three girls also have a slugging percentage of over 1.000. 

Hunter also has six girls that have already hit seven RBI or more this season, an unbelievable stat line in just eight games played. As a team, they’ve slammed 23 doubles and four triples, and tout a batting average of .439. 

The Lady Wolverines have also scored a whopping 85 runs in the last six games, all Region 4 contests, and seem to have hit their stride though we’re not even at the halfway point in Region 4 action. 

Perhaps the most impressive stat, however, is that Hunter has only left 33 runners on base, 17 below the national average. 

On the mound might stand one of the biggest surprises of the year in sophomore Sydni Miller who is 2-0 thus far with 11 strikeouts. In addition, senior Jordyn Napoles is 1-1, and Aiono is 1-2 for Hunter, giving the Lady Wolverines a nice 1-2-3 punch on the pitcher’s circle. 

To display that type of production eight games into a season is beyond impressive, really. 

For the opposition it’s probably downright frightening, considering how much this Hunter team could still grow over the next 20 games. 

That sort of power is something you can’t coach and it is the kind of versatility that gives Hunter a real chance to not only capture a region crown but compete deep into the state tournament. 

At 4-2 in Region 4, the Lady Wolverines are about halfway there in terms of games in league play. Hunter is currently ranked No. 14 in the 5A RPI. 

From here on out, a handful of nonleague games will be sprinkled into Hunter’s regular season schedule. 

Games will continue through April and most of May before the state tournament begins on May 20. 

The 2025-26 Hunter Lady Wolverines are: Sydni Miller, Abagail Dillingham, Kiana Pauni, Loiana Iongi, Alyssa Bates, Jordyn Napoles, Tosha Swanty, Alexa Olsen, Tupouaonuu Iongi, Destini Perez, Anna Kimball, Morgan Lapuaho, Stori Barker, Mele Taukafa, Nevaeh Tafuna, Isabella Mailo, Kenya Lapuaho and Leila Aiono. The team is coached by Heather Carlson, Gavin Carlson, Holli Fenstermaker and Quinn Downard.