Honolulu, HI - The HPU Baseball team split their series with Vanguard this past weekend, winning the first 2 games while dropping a double header on Saturday. Despite the losses on Saturday, the Sharks are in good shape heading into their last series of the regular season and will return to the postseason in back to back years. Saturday also marked senior day for the Sharks where the 16 seniors and their contributions to the program were celebrated.
Game 1
The first contest was a blowout from start to finish as the Sharks put up 11 runs in the first 2 innings. The Sharks put up 6 runs in the first inning, led by a 2 run shot from Noah Blythe, who set the single season hits record this past weekend. Every starter for the Sharks recorded a hit, including a 4-4 performance from captain Daniel Johnson in the 12-2 victory.
Game 2
The Sharks continued their offensive firepower in game 2, stringing together a couple of productive innings before exploding for 6 runs in the 7th inning to put the game away. Freshman Jayden Gabrillo went 5 innings of no run ball, striking out 6 batters. Daniel Johnson continued to stay hot, going 2-2 with a pair of walks. Blythe hit his second home run of the weekend to start the rally in the 7th which was capped off by an RBI triple from Bronson Rivera.
Game 3
The Sharks struggled offensively in game 3. They were able to execute a few hit and runs in the second inning to push across 2 runs and held onto a 2-1 lead for most of the game, but were unable to overcome a 5 run 7th inning from Vanguard, and lost 7-2.
Game 4
The Sharks came out flat in the final game of the series and quickly fell behind 8-0. Their offense struggled to get going until the later innings. Despite the loss, many of the seniors thrived on the mound in their last home game for the Sharks. Landen Argabright, Ryan Schuelke, Steven Escarcega, and Enrique Espinoza all pitched scoreless innings.
Despite their underwhelming performance on Saturday, the Sharks were able to celebrate their 16 seniors and their contributions to turning HPU baseball into a winning program. The Sharks will face Chaminade on April 24th, 25th, and 27th as they look to finish the regular season on a high note heading into the postseason.
