WAIPAHU, Hawai`i—It was a doubleheader that had a similar end result for both games and a similar way of getting there.

Host Hawai`i Pacific won both ends of a non-conference twinbill on Saturday night at Hans L `Orange Park, outslugging Hawai`i Hilo 18-11 in the opener and 15-8 in the later game.

The Sharks improved to 10-2 on the season and the Vulcans are now 2-5.

In the first game, the two teams combined for 29 runs, 32 hits and seven errors during an 18-11 Shark win. In the nightcap, Hawai`i Pacific bats remained hot, but UH Hilo's did not until it was too late. For the day, the Sharks battered Vulcan pitching for 33 runs and 35 hits. In both games, they built big leads early only to see the Vulcans battle back late in the game(s).

Things got away from the Vulcans and starting pitcher Kyle Alcorn in the opener in a hurry. The sophomore lefty, who shut down the Sharks last weekend in Hilo, got roughed up for eight hits and seven earned runs in just 1.1 innings. HPU crossed the plate twice in the first inning and eight times in the second to build a 10-0 lead. They batted around in that fateful second inning.

Sharks hurler Evan Spitzer shut the Vulcans down through the first six innings of play and would leave then having given up just six hits, one earned run, no walks and he fanned seven. He improved to 2-0 with the victory.

The Vulcans would get some offense going late. A three-run homer by Jaryn Kanbara in the seventh accounted for a trio of runs as the Vulcans scored four times, and in the eighth, doubles by Dylan Sugimoto and Mana Manago helped bring in three more runs.

Kyle Yamada had three hits, two RBI and a double in the first game. Kanbara also had three hits (including the home run) and Sugimoto had three, including a pair of doubles and he scored four times.

Tanner Tokunaga had three hits and Jake Selco had a home run to lead the Sharks.

In the second game, pitching ruled early as HPU's Joshua Muneno and UHH's Christian Sadler were dealing. UH Hilo held a 2-0 lead after two and a half innings of play, using three consecutive singles by Kobie Russell, John Bicos and Manago to score a run in the second, and added one in the third on Kanbara's RBI-double.

The Sharks got one back in the bottom of the third, and then three straight singles of their own chased Sadler from the game in the fifth. After a solid start, Sadler left the game having given up seven hits and three earned runs. Muneno left after six, allowing three runs, seven hits and he did not walk a batter (he would get the win to improve to 2-0).

The gates came unhinged after that. HPU put up five runs in the sixth, four in the seventh and three more in the eighth against three Vulcan pitchers.  

UH Hilo put four runs on the board in the top of the ninth to add to the offensive barrage. Mikey Rita's triple and Marcus Calamese's double added to the tally.

The Vulcans ended up with 12 hits in the second game, two by Bicos and two by Rita.

The two teams will square off again on Sunday in another non-conference doubleheader. Start time at Hans L 'Orange Park for game one will be 11 a.m.