FRESNO, Calif. – Senior first baseman Christian Kapeliela belted three home runs over two games as Hawai'i Pacific University split a PacWest Conference doubleheader Friday against Fresno Pacific, losing 6-5 in the first and winning 14-3 in the second at FPU Diamond.
 
The Sharks (12-14, 7-12) never trailed in the second contest, while the Sunbirds (13-12, 10-9) fought off the Sharks in the first game.
 
Kapeliela, the senior from Kaneohe, Hawai'i/Castle, went 5-for-8 on the afternoon with a walk and five RBIs, kept the Sharks in game one with his solo home run in the second and his two-run shot that tied the game in the eighth. He also smashed a two-run homer in game two that helped cement the HPU lead.
 
Senior third baseman Wyatt Hoppie of Orange, Calif./Villa Park, was 5-for-9 at the plate with four RBIs and scored four runs by being driven in by Kapeliela.
 
Senior righthander Billy Clemens (4-2) of Tempe, Ariz./Corona Del Sol, picked up his fourth win of the year in the second game going six innings, allowing two runs on two hits with four walks and five strikeouts.
 
Junior righthander Tyler Van Stone (2-4) of Henderson, Nev./Foothill, went the distance in game one with the loss, pitching eight innings and allowing six runs on nine hits with three walks and five strikeouts.
 
FPU opened the first game with a two-run home run from Braden Frankfort off the right field foul pole to grab a 2-0 advantage.
 
The Sharks came back in the top of the second as Kapeliela crushed a 1-0 pitch over the left field fence to pull within 2-1. But the Sunbirds answered with an RBI groundout from Bryan Honley to give Fresno a 3-1 advantage.
 
In the fifth, the Sharks took advantage of a Sunbird error to put a runner on then got back-to-back two-out RBI singles from Sharks junior leftfielder Joshua Muneno of Honolulu/Maryknoll and junior centerfielder Tanner Tokunaga of Pearl City, Hawai'i/Pearl City to tie the game at 3-3.
 
The tie didn't last long as Fresno Pacific got a walk and a homer from Adam Aleman in the bottom of the fifth to go back up 5-3.
 
In the eighth, Hoppie singled to set up Kapeliela who crushed a second 1-0 pitch to left to knot the game at 5.
 
But a leadoff walk by Alvarez in the FPU eight allowed Hunter Villanueva to notch an RBI single up the middle to put the Sunbirds back on top 6-5. HPU got a man on in the ninth, but left him stranded to give FPU a second win in the series.
 
For the second time in the series, Fresno Pacific got a complete game from a starter as Alex Garcia (4-2) got the win allowing five runs – three earned – on 11 hits with eight strikeouts and a walk.
 
The seven-inning second game was scoreless until the third inning when the Sharks got a leadoff homer from senior shortstop Mitchell Bumann of Corona, Calif./Temescal Canyon with a home run to left field. Then HPU loaded the bases, that included a walk to Kapeliela, before junior designated hitter Marc Sauceda of Temecula, Calif./Chaparral rapped a sacrifice fly and sophomore Matthew Tsutomi of Pearl City, Hawai'i/Pearl City followed with an RBI single to left that gave the Sharks a 3-0 lead.
 
HPU followed with a four-run fourth that featured a two RBI double from Hoppie and Kapeliela's third home run of the day – a two-run bash to right center as the Sharks climbed to a 7-0 lead.
 
The Sunbirds answered with two in the bottom of the fourth with a run on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly.
 
That's when HPU responded with a five-run top of the fifth scoring on an FPU throwing error, a Hoppie two RBI single and a two RBI single by freshman Micah Layosa of Lihue, Hawai'i/Kauai.
 
The Sharks plated two more in the sixth on a two RBI double by senior rightfielder Ryan Torres-Torioka of Holualoa, Hawai'i/Konawaena.
 
Junior righthander Santiago Camarena of Houston/Clements relieved Clemens on the hill as FPU got one back in the bottom of the ninth. Camarena allowed the one run on three hits in facing five batters.
 
The Sharks and Sunbirds conclude the four-game series on Saturday with a 9 a.m. HST (Noon PDT) contest at FPU Diamond.