This Week—Thursday (March 30) vs. Holy Names, Wong Stadium, 6 p.m.
Friday (March 31) vs. Holy Names, Wong Stadium, 6 p.m. (ESPN radio 850 AM)
Saturday (April 1) vs. Holy Names, Wong Stadium, Doubleheader, Noon.
Live Stats available at www.hiloathletics.com

Last Games—Lost four-game series' to Concordia and Azusa Pacific in southern California
Record: 3-13 overall, 3-11 Pacific West Conference

Home, Sweet Home: The UH Hilo baseball team returns home after a week on the road to host the Holy Names Hawks in a four-game series at Wong Stadium, Thursday-Saturday. The Vulcans are 3-5 this year at home, 4-6 if you count the exhibition series against Chuo University of Japan.

Eagles, Cougars were too much: The Vulcans dropped all eight games on their road trip to southern California. Against Concordia, they were clipped in a pair of one-run games (3-2, 4-3) and in a 2-0 duel, before falling in the series nightcap, 14-6. Next were the No. 9 nationally ranked Azusa Pacific Cougars, who lived up to their ranking and then some.
 
Pitching Progress: In the first three games at Concordia, the Vulcans received solid starting pitching performances in a losing cause. Eric Vega went 7.1 innings in the series opener and allowed just four hits and two earned runs. Dylan Spain followed with 5.1 innings of work, allowing just five hits and one earned run. Warren Thomas pitched in game three and gave up only three hits in five innings, with just two earned runs. In the fourth game at Azusa, Drew Ichikawa made his first start of the season and was impressive in his debut (see below).

Phillip Power: Phillip Steering was a bright spot offensively for the Vulcans in southern California. He went 12-for-26 (.461) with a pair of home runs, and had a 4-for-4 day in the series finale at Concordia with three runs scored and a double. On the year, the junior first baseman is hitting .440 with eight runs scored, five doubles, two home runs, seven RBI and four stolen bases. He leads the Vulcans in every one of those categories. He also leads the PacWest in batting average and is fourth in slugging percentage (.660).

Dylan's Days: Outfielder Dylan Sugimoto got hot at the plate a few games into the California trip. He went 3-for-4 in the third game against Concordia, and had two hits in each of the final two games against Azusa Pacific, including a home run. He now has a five-game hitting streak and has boosted his batting average to .292.

Mound Mentions: In four relief appearances, Kamalu Kamoku has a 1.29 ERA with eight strikeouts in seven innings pitched, against only five hits…Deric Valoroso, Jr. has also been great out of the bullpen, sporting a 2.16 ERA…Drew Ichikawa made his first start of the season against the Cougars and allowed only one earned run in five innings of work.Teams are hitting just .161 against him…Starter Dylan Spain is 1-3 with a 3.38 ERA, and Eric Vega is 1-2 and 3.68.

Hawk Headlines: The Hawks come to Hilo after working a split at Hawai`i Pacific. Like the Vulcans, Holy Names has had a tough schedule to date, dropping four games each to PacWest front runners Azusa Pacific and Point Loma, and three of four to Dixie State. Chris Gnos leads the Hawks offense, hitting .330 with seven doubles. Nick Snyder provides the power with eight home runs and 15 RBI. Holy Names won three of four games against UHH last year in Oakland.

PacWest Progress: Azusa Pacific, ranked ninth in the country and second in the west region, moved back into the top spot in the Pacific West Conference standings.
 
Team                                                     PWC      Overall
Azusa Pacific                                          10-2         23-3
Dixie State                                              13-3         24-6
California Baptist                                     11-5         20-10
Point Loma                                              8-4          16-8
Concordia                                                9-7         12-15
Academy of Art                                       8-8          12-17
Fresno Pacific                                        5-7            8-12
Hawaii Pacific                                       4-14          14-16
Hawaii Hilo                                           3-11            3-13
Holy Names                                         3-13            6-23
 
The Coach: Head coach Kallen Miyataki is in his fourth full season as the leader of the Vulcan program, but his history in a UHH uniform goes much deeper than that. He had previous roles as an associate head coach, assistant coach and player for the Vulcans. He was the catcher, captain and team MVP for UH Hilo in 1983, and after a stint at UH Manoa as a grad assistant and assistant coach, he came back to Hilo for a 14-year run as an assistant (1988-2001). He was the associate head coach for three years (2004-06) before taking over the controls of the program in the fall of 2014.

SEASON STATS