KEAAU, Hawai`i--Reese Kato brought the wood and Cole Nakachi the arm as the Hawai`i Hilo baseball team won the first game of a doubleheader over Concordia on Saturday afternoon at Kamehameha School, 6-4. The Eagles shut down the Vulcans in the second contest, 3-0, to claim a split of the twinbill and of the four-game series.

The Vulcans are now 14-20 overall and 10-16 in the Pacific West Conference. Concordia leaves the Big Island with a 14-24 mark and a 11-17 slate in conference play. The Eagles won the first game on Friday night, 10-7, while the Vulcans won the second contest in the series, 6-2.

Kato, a senior who has missed almost the entire season with an injury, was pressed into service right before the start of the game when fellow second baseman Mano Manago wasn't able to play. Kato responded with three hits in three at-bats in the opener, played on the turf field at Kamehameha. He also scored twice and drove in a run. 

The Vulcans had to overcome a 4-0 deficit in the first game. The Eagles scored four times against Vulcan starter Kyle Alcorn, only two of the runs earned. They stroked seven hits against the freshman left-hander, leading UHH head coach Kal Miyataki to signal for reliever Nakachi. 

The senior kept the Eagles off balance, pitching 3.2 innings without allowing a hit. He walked one and fanned two, giving his teammates a chance to get their offense untracked, which was scoreless through four innings against Will Cohen. 

But the Vulcans picked up two runs in the fifth on a pair of hits, and then exploded for four runs in the sixth. Hits by Kato, Kila Zuttermeister, Kyle Yamada and a sacrifice fly by Phillip Steering gave Nakachi and the Vulcans the lead. Nakachi lasted until one out into the ninth, when John Kea then came on to induce a game-ending double-play, picking up his fifth save of the season.

Yamada had two hits in the Vulcan win, while Steering and Jonathan Segovia drove in two runs each. Haloa Dudoit had two hits and two RBI for the Eagles.

In the second game, halted after six innings because of darkness, four Concordia pitchers combined to hold the Vulcans to just four hits and no plate crossings. The Vulcans loaded the bases three times and left eight runners on base in the shortened contest. Meanwhile, the Eagles took advantage of four Vulcan errors and six walks to push across three runs.

Jason McLellan shut the door on Vulcans with a two-inning save, fanning four batters including the final three of the ball game. 

The Vulcans now head back to the bay area for a pair of four-game series at Academy of Art and Holy Names.