ALAMEDA, Calif. – Hawai'i Pacific University saw Holy Names put up three runs in the eighth inning to break open a tie game as the Hawks took a 9-7 victory Sunday afternoon at Pat Bail Field.
The Sharks (17-22, 11-20) lost for the second straight game and fell for the seventh time in the last eight contests. The Hawks (9-32, 5-26) overcame a four-run deficit for the second straight game.
The top of the order provided the offensive pop as sophomore rightfielder
Ryan Torres-Torioka of Holualoa, Hawai'i/Konawaena went 3-for-5 with a walk and two runs scored, while junior centerfielder
Tanner Tokunaga of Pearl City, Hawai'i/Pearl City was 2-for-5 with a walk and two runs scored. Senior first baseman
Christian Kapeliela of Kaneohe, Hawai'i/Castle was 1-for-2 with an RBI and was walked four times.
Junior righthanded reliever Josh Savea (2-1) of Gold River, Calif./Rio Americano got the loss, working three innings and allowing four runs – three earned – on five hits with two strikeouts. Starting lefthander
Joshua Muneno of Honolulu/Maryknoll, threw 4.1 innings allowing four runs onthree hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Junior righty
Christian Miller of Brementon, Wash./Central Kitsap, worked a third of an inning allowing a run on a hit and a walk, while junior righthander Santiago Camarena of Houston, Texas/Clements worked a third of an inning allowing one hit.
Holy Names was led by Jashua Jones who was 2-for-5 with three RBIs.
HNU reliever Adrian Rodriguez (2-1) got the win while pitching two-thirds of an inning with a strikeout. Joshua Nelson picked up the save in working one inning allowing a run on two hits with two walks. Starter Daniel Hopkins allowed four runs – only one earned – on four hits and three walks in two innings. Christopher Gann allowed two runs on five hits with three walks in three innings.
The Sharks opened the game with three runs in the first, as Torres-Torioka walked and scored on an RBI double from Kapeliela. After a single by senior designated hitter
Codi Santana of Oxnard, Calif./St. Bonaventure HS and a walk by sophomore second baseman
Matthew Tsutomi of Pearl City, Hawai'i/Pearl City to load the bases, junior leftfielder
Jordan Mopas of Ewa Beach, Hawai'i/St. Louis High, reached on an error by shortstop Alex Denobriga that plated Kapeliela and Santana for a 3-0 lead.
The Sharks chalked up another run in the second as Tokunaga singled and advanced to third on a throwing error by pitcher Hopkins. Then a Hopkins wild pitch scored Tokunaga for a 4-0 lead.
That lead stood until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Hawks broke open for five runs to take the lead. The Hawks started with a two-run homer from Jones. HNU put runners on second and third when a throwing error on a failed pickoff allowed both to score. After a walk by Nelson and a single by William Ruiz, the Hawks pulled off a double steal as Nelson swiped home to take a 5-4 lead.
Holy Names added a sixth run in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single by Ruiz after an HPU throwing error.
The Sharks tied the game in the top of the eighth after Tokunaga walked, senior third baseman
Wyatt Hoppie of Orange, Calif./Villa Park doubled and Kapeliela was intentionally walked to load the bases. Then junior pinch hitter
Marc Sauceda of Temecula, Calif./Chaparral rapped a two-RBI single through the right side that knotted the game at 6-6.
But the Hawks broke the tie in the bottom of the frame, collecting three runs on an RBI double from Jones, his third RBI of the contest, an RBI single from Denobriga and an RBI double from Brad Bussard to go up 9-6.
The Sharks made a charge in the top of the ninth, with Tokunaga getting a two-out double and Hoppie following it with an RBI single to right. HPU got a second runner on, but a deep fly out ended the game.
HPU and Holy Names close the series on Monday with a 2 p.m. HST (5 p.m. PDT) single game at Pat Bail Field.
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