Vulcans Set to Host Eagles in Four-Game Series
 
Hawai`i Hilo (3-6 overall/1-1 PWC) vs. Biola (4-5 overall/0-0 PWC)
Feb. 28 (Thursday), Single Game, 6 p.m
March 1 (Friday), Single Game, 6 p.m.
March 2 (Saturday), Doubleheader, 3 p.m.
Wong Stadium, Hilo, Hawai`i
Live Stats at hiloathletics.com.
 
Hilo Headlines: The Vulcans return to action this week, playing someone besides Hawai`i Pacific. UH Hilo's first nine games were against the Sharks, and now they host Biola University—who is here in Hilo after playing four games at Hawai`i Pacific.
 
Biola Bites:  Biola lost three of four to the Sharks, but they were all non-conference games and the Eagles will be playing their first PacWest games this weekend against the Vulcans. The Eagles won three of four games in Hilo last year in the first games played between the two schools as members of the PacWest. The Eagles were picked to finish fourth in the PacWest Preseason poll, after finishing 34-22 overall and 21-19 in their first-ever season of NCAA Division II baseball. Preseason All-PacWest picks Ryan Gallegos (.344) and Jerron Largusa (2 HR, 8 RBI) pace the Eagles at the plate. Starting pitcher Troy Stainbrook has been impressive, striking out 11 in 11 innings with a 1-1 record and 1.59 ERA. The former NAIA team has played an NAIA preseason schedule other than the games with the Sharks and sit at 4-5 on the year.
 
Crossing the Plate: In nine games against the Sharks, the Vulcans crossed the plate 53 times—an average of almost six runs a game. That should be enough to win a lot of games, but it only equated to three wins (3-6) in the series that played out in Hilo and Waipahu. The Vulcans sport a team batting average of .282 with 14 doubles, led by senior Kyle Yamada's .333 average and seven RBI. Second baseman Mana Manago is batting .321, Kamalu Neal .320, Dylan Sugimoto .316 and RJ Romo is hitting .308. Catcher Jaryn Kanbara has four doubles and seven RBI to lead the Vulcans in those two categories.
 
Pitching Progress: The stat high points are fewer in the pitching column, but can be found in individual game performances. After the Sharks had scored 53 runs in the first three games on Oahu, sophomore Travis Burleson stepped in and silenced HPU bats in the series finale—allowing just two runs in five innings of work and only four hits to get the win. Fellow sophomore John Kea pitched a two-inning save and has yet to give up a run this year in 5.2 relief innings. Yet another soph, lefty Kyle Alcorn didn't give up an earned run in a season-opening 10-3 win
 
Around the Horn: Hawaii Pacific has the best non-conference record in the PacWest with a sterling 14-4 mark. Academy of Art is 8-3 and Point Loma is 9-5, and all the conference teams will jump into PacWest play this week.
 
Regional Round Up: Perennial World Series participant UC San Diego ranks first in the NCBWA West Region poll, and the rest of the field looks like this, with records listed through last weekend. (1) UC San Diego 9-4, (2) Point Loma 9-5, (3) Cal Poly Pomona 8-6, (4) Azusa Pacific 8-5, (5) Cal State Monterey Bay 8-6, (6) Cal State San Marcos 10-4, (7) Hawaii Pacific 13-3, (8) Western Oregon 2-0, (9) San Francisco State 5-0-1, (10) Stanislaus State 7-5.
 
Last Year: The Vulcans finished 21-27, their best mark in seven years. They went 16-22 in the PacWest, and split four games with NCAA playoff teams Point Loma and California Baptist. They graduated single-season (10) and all-time (16) home run leader Phillip Steering and also said goodbye to leading hitter, Jonathan Segovia (.372).
 
What's Next: After this weekend's series with Biola, the Vulcans will host Fresno Pacific in four games with the same Thursday-Friday ( 6 pm single games) and Saturday (3 pm doubleheader) format.
 
The Coach: Head coach Kallen Miyataki is in his sixth 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.