WAIPAHU, Hawaii (February 9, 2016) – After months of offseason workouts, fall practices and preseason inter-squad scrimmages, the Hawaii Pacific baseball team is ready to play ball under the lights Wednesday evening at Hans L'Orange Park.
The Sharks open the 2016 season with a five-game series against Saint Leo (Fla.) University, including a single game Wednesday (6 p.m.), a single game Friday (6 p.m.) a doubleheader on Saturday (2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.) and the finale on Sunday (noon).
HPU was picked to finish seventh in a very competitive 10-team PacWest Conference via a recent vote by league coaches.
Under the guidance of 11
th-year skipper
Garett Yukumoto, who is the program's winningest coach with a 289-196-1 (.631 winning percentage) mark, the Sharks will follow the pace set by 13 seniors on the roster, including ace pitcher
Rico Garcia. The hurler was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America Preseason All-West Region First Team and earned a spot on the Preseason All-PacWest Team.
Garcia, a prep standout at Saint Louis School, led the Sharks with a 6-4 record last season and a 2.18 ERA through 10 starts, including four complete games. The Kapolei native also paced HPU in 2015 with a school-record 87 strikeouts over 74 1/3 innings pitched, while opposing batters hit just .186 against him.
The right-handed hurler is looking to help the Sharks improve on their 27-20 record last year, which included a 17-15 mark in conference play. Garcia was named to the All-PacWest First Team in 2015 and was also honored as HPU's Male Athlete of the Year.
HPU welcomes a familiar name to the bullpen in
Brandon Bonilla, the son of former Major League slugger Bobby Bonilla. Brandon, now a six-foot-four, 220-pound senior, joins the Sharks after spending time at both Arizona State and Grand Canyon Universities. The southpaw pitcher is a hard-throwing relief option who can let it fly at 97 mph, and also boasts a biting slider that darts in toward right-handed hitters.
Bonilla was selected in the 37
th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft in 2011 after his time at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., by the Colorado Rockies. He was then picked in 2014 in the 25
th round of the MLB June Amateur Draft by the Baltimore Orioles, but chose instead to focus on earning his college degree.
Tyler Tokunaga is poised for another stellar season both at shortstop and at the dish, where he hit .320 with six doubles, two triples, 23 RBI and 14 stolen bases as a junior last year. The former Pearl City standout and 2012 OIA Red West Division Player of the Year posted an on-base-plus-slugging percentage of .787 and led the squad with 135 defensive assists.
The Sharks are the first baseball players to enjoy field improvements implemented at Hans L'Orange Park with the goal of creating safer, more reliable conditions. Some of the fixes include upgrading the irrigation system, leveling the field and expanding the foul territory in right field.
The HPU baseball team has played at Hans L'Orange Park since 2006 after a stint at Aloha Stadium, and high school teams including those in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu also compete at the facility. Hans L'Orange Park was also utilized by Hawaii Winter Baseball, a professional minor league baseball organization, from 2006-2008. Many of the league's former players went on to play in Major League Baseball, and some are still playing professionally at the highest level.
For more information on the HPU baseball team, as well as the athletic department's additional 13 squads and the cheer and dance teams, log on to HPUSharks.com.
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