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Hawaii Pacific University Athletics

Chase Taylor
HSRN 95.1FM/760AM
5
Hawaii Pacific HPU 17-23, 12-16 pwc
7
Winner Hawaii Hilo UHH 21-16, 12-14 pwc
Hawaii Pacific HPU
17-23, 12-16 pwc
5
Final
7
Hawaii Hilo UHH
21-16, 12-14 pwc
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Hawaii Pacific HPU 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 5 8 3
Hawaii Hilo UHH 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 3 X 7 10 3

W: Jake Liberta (1-3) L: Leisher, Mac (3-3) S: Christian Wood (3)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Sharks Keeps it Close, but Eventually Fall 7-5 to the Vulcans

HILO, Hawai'i - The Hawaii Pacific University baseball team returned back to the islands for one final road series. They visited island rival University of Hawaii-Hilo Friday afternoon for the first of four games at Francis Wong Stadium. 
 
The Sharks (17-23, 12-16 PacWest) kept it close, but eventually fell 7-5 to the Vulcans (21-16, 12-14 PacWest). 

Although Hawaii Pacific threatened with two runners in scoring position to begin the first inning, they were unable to bring any runs across the plate. On the other hand, Hilo wasted no time getting on the board. The first three batters earned a hit for the Vulcans, including a triple by leadoff hitter Casey Yamauchi. However, starting pitcher Andrew Hauck was able to limit the damage to a single run, forcing a fly out and a double play to end the first frame.  

Then in the bottom of the fifth, a big double by UHH player Ryan Cho extended Hilo's lead to 3-0. HPU were constantly finding pressure, but struggled to score. 

However, those struggles would come to an end in the sixth, thanks to some misplays by the Vulcans. For starters, D.J. Stephens got beaned, before reaching third base on a throwing error by the catcher. But, there were two outs on the board, fortunately for HPU, the inning was far from over. 

Continuing into the frame, Ian Wolski slapped a single to right field to score Stephens. Then, a bizarre sequence of events took place. Noah Hata and Haydon Huff for both hit by pitches. With the bases loaded, Kota Suzuki drew a walk to bring in a second run. 

Nicholas Jio resumed the trend, taking another one for the team to tie the game. Tejean Smith closed the inning out by flying one to center field, however, it was not played correctly, resulting in two more runs and the lead for Hawaii Pacific. When it was all said and done, there were four hit batters, one walk, one hit, and three defensive errors in the sixth inning to give HPU a 5-3 lead. 

Unfortunately, the error virus seemed to spread toward the Sharks. A mishap gave the Vulcans a bases load opportunity with no outs to their name in the seventh inning. Hawaii Pacific turned to reliever Ryan Inouye to get them out of the jam. He went on to retire the next three batters, two with strikeouts, while the other one grounded out to third base. The ground out was enough to cut HPU's lead to 5-4. 

It all broke down in the eighth, as two hits, two walks, and two hit batters allowed Hilo to retake the lead by a score of 7-5. Hawaii Pacific were unable to knot the game up, falling to UHH in the first game of the series. 

Suzuki was efficient from the box, coming away with three hits and an RBI. Jio and Wolski also helped to bring in a run each. 
 
Inouye was the best pitcher tonight, coming into a bases loaded situation and getting out of the jam with only a run going against the team. 
 
Up Next 

The Sharks and Vulcans will continue their series tomorrow, April 22, with a double-header. First pitch of game one is set for 2:00 p.m. HST at Francis Wong Stadium
 
#GoSharks
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