HONOLULU -- Hawai'i Pacific University opened the 2021 season by taking one on the chin, falling 12-1 to Division I neighbor University of Hawai'i on Thursday night at UH's Les Murakami Stadium.
 
The Sharks dropped to 0-1, while the Rainbow Warriors improved to 2-2 on the season after the first game of the four-game series.
 
The Sharks hung with the Rainbow Warriors for the first three innings, before a pair of errors in the fourth opened a six-run explosion.
 
The bright spot for HPU came in the top of the sixth when junior Braxton Wehrle of Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman crushed the first pitch he was offered by UH's Aaron Davenport into the tree beyond the right field fence for the Sharks first home run of the season. Wehrle was 2-for-3 at the dish in the game.
 
It was the only run allowed by the Rainbow Warriors preseason All-American Davenport who picked up the win going seven innings with 13 strikeouts against one walk while allowing five hits.
 
HPU sophomore righthander Shane Adams got the loss in getting the start. He went 3.1 innings allowing seven runs, five earned, on five hits and two walks. He gave up the first runs of the contest in the bottom of the first on a two-run homer to right by Aaron Fogle who went 4-for-5 at the plate.
 
HPU and UH are back in action at Les Murakami Stadium on Friday, with the first pitch at 6:35 p.m.