Page 6 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - February 22, 2023

6 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK FEBRUARY 22, 2023
Kamalani Dung wasn’t exactly a prodigy. Long be- fore her gold medal and championship trophies, she was just a kid from Māka- ha, running the wrong way around the baseball diamond.
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“I was chasing butterflies and totally avoiding the ball in the outfield,” Dung recalls with a chuckle. “I didn’t look like an athlete or athletic prospect at all.”
“From there, I really start- ed understanding that there were more opportunities than just playing softball here in Hawai‘i,” says Dung. “So, I started to look for college opportunities.”
After striking out with baseball, a pint-sized Dung thought she ought to give softball a try.
Despite being one of the top players in the lo- cal game, Dung, who’s no stranger to adversity, didn’t have experience navigating the collegiate world and remained uncommitted until time was almost out. But if this sport taught her anything, it’s that when life throws you curveballs you have to keep swinging.
Kamalani Dung wears many hats
as a model, businesswoman and philanthropist. But it’s the work she does with a softball visor on that really makes this athlete the consummate do-it-all professional.
“I started to learn how to pitch and I was overall ob- sessed with it,” she says. “I was really passionate about it, looking up to the girls above me and copying what- ever they did. I would walk around my house and the store just swinging my arm around, going through my pitching motion.
Fresno State Uni- versity coach Trisha Ford tapped Dung for a spot on the Bull- dogs, and the rest was history.
“Now I think back and that was so insane and so funny.” With a wicked right arm and enough gusto to back up its power, the Kamehame- ha Schools alumna quickly climbed the ranks. A four- year varsity starter, Dung led the Warriors to the champi- onships year after year and earned All-State Division I honors each year of her high school career. On the mound, she logged an earned run av- erage of 0.82 with 86 strike- outs, seven shutouts and an
“It was definitely
all in God’s plan,”
says Dung, who’s
the first profes-
sional softball
pitcher from Ha-
wai‘i. “She defi-
nitely gave me a
chance. She knew
my financial situ-
ation coming out of Wai‘anae and offered
me a full ride to go to college as a late recruit. She felt like a second mom to me. It was awesome, good vibes and reminded me of home.”
A
fly-chasing days, Dung had something to prove. Being in
s the under-
dog for the first time since her butter-
a new state with a new team would make anyone nervous — but not Dung, who saw this as an opportunity to work
harder than ever before. “Leading through high school and college at Fresno State, I’ve been doubted at
every single level I’ve ever played at,” she says. “It’s fun- SEE PAGE 7