WAIPAHU, Hawai'i -- Hawai'i Pacific University collected a doubleheader sweep from Minnesota Crookston on Saturday, winning game one 4-3 and game two 6-3 in non-conference action at Hans L'Orange Park.
 
The Sharks (3-0) withstood the comeback attempts by the Eagles (0-3) who nearly matched HPU step-for-step.
 
"I felt we played well as a team today," said HPU Coach Garett Yukumoto. "We stayed together and took some solid steps with these games. It's great to be 3-and-0."
 
Junior centerfielder Tanner Tokunaga of Pearl City, Hawai'i/Pearl City, set the table going 4-for-8 for the twinbill and scoring three runs. Junior leftfielder Jordan Mopas of Ewa Beach, Hawai'i/St. Louis HS, bashed his first home run of the season in going 4-for-7 on the day.
 
Relievers got the wins in both games for the Sharks, as junior righthander Joshua Savea of Gold River, Calif./Rio Americano (1-0), picked up the win, with junior righty Jordan Gesling of Lennox, S.D./Roosevelt notching his first save. Junior lefthander Joshua Muneno of Honolulu/Maryknoll (1-0), won game two with senior righthander Evan-Thomas May of Buena Park, Calif./Oxford Academy got his first save.
 
The Sharks and Eagles conclude their four-game series on Sunday in a noon game at Hans L'Orange Park.
 
Game One
 
The Sharks scored early, then held on to fight off Minnesota Crookston 4-3.
 
Tokunaga singled and scored on Christian Kapeliela's RBI single in the first, and added two more runs on a Wyatt Hoppie RBI ground out and Kapeliela's second RBI single in the third.
 
After allowing UMC to plate a run in the top of the fourth, Mopas led off the bottom of the fourth with his first home run of the season to straight away centerfield.
 
The Eagles made it interesting in the top of the ninth, with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Ethan Mushitz and an RBI single from Ben Thoma before Gesling shut down the inning.
 
Marc Sauceda got the start for HPU and went 4.1 innings with four strikeouts and five walks. But he didn't go far enough to get credit for the win and Savea followed with six strikeouts in 3.2 innings with two hits and no runs for the win. Gesling allowed two earned runs, but got out of the final inning for the win.
 
Game Two
 
HPU plated two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to put away UMC 6-3 in the seven-inning second game.
 
The Sharks came back from trailing 1-0 and 2-1 with a pair of runs in the fourth. Trailing 2-1, Tokunaga and Ryan Torres-Torioka both singled, then scored on back-to-back RBI singles by Hoppie and Kapeliela.
 
A leadoff walk in the fourth set up HPU's Mitchell Bumann for an RBI double and a 4-2 lead.
 
UMC's Reed Hjelle doubled home a run in the top of the fifth to pull the Eagles within one at 4-3, where it stood until the bottom of the sixth.
 
HPU got an RBI single to right from Torioka, and a sacrifice fly to center from Torres-Torioka for the 6-3 advantage before sending in May to work a nearly perfect seventh.
 
Muneno, who replaced starter Christian Miller in the second, went 3.0 innings allowing two runs on one hit with three strikeouts and a walk. Miller went 1.2 innings allowing an earned run on four hits. Evan Spitzer threw 1.1 innings allowing two hits with two strikeouts, before May had his two strikeout, one walk ninth to win the game.