(photo courtesy of Rick Ogata)

HILO, Hawai`i--The process was very different in two games but the end result was the same on Saturday when the UH Hilo baseball Vulcans swept visiting Hawai`i Pacific, 8-1 and 4-3.

The games at George and Marion Hall Stadium on the UH Hilo campus were the Pacific West Conference openers for both teams. The Vulcans are now 2-3 on the season while the Sharks drop to 0-6.

In the opener, UHH starting pitcher Kyle Alcorn worked out of early trouble and pitched seven innings without giving up an earned run. Meanwhile, the first five hitters in the UHH order combined to bash nine hits and drive in seven runs during the nine-inning 8-1 win. In the nightcap, UHH scored the go-ahead run in the fourth inning and then got excellent relief work from Christian Sadler, Cody Hirata and Brandyn Lee-Lehano to close out the seven-inning 4-3 victory.

Alcorn had a rough beginning and a standout finish. The Sharks loaded the bases in the first and second innings, courtesy of three hit batters and two walks issued by Alcorn. HPU also scored an unearned run, and by virtue of a lot of full counts and extra pitches, Alcorn had thrown 56 pitches through two innings. 

But the senior lefty settled in after that. He allowed only three more hits through the next five innings and finished with 102 pitches when the left the game after seven. The Sharks had just four hits against him and Alcorn walked two and fanned three. Takashi Umino tossed the final two innings, working around a base hit and two walks without giving up a run. 

Meanwhile, the top five hitters in the Vulcan order did their jobs. Jaryn Kanbara drove in three runs in his first two at-bats with a single and a double. Casey Yamauchi had three hits, scored twice and drove in a run. Chris Aubort and Kobie Russell had a hit each and John Bicos was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. UHH had nine hits overall in the game, three of them doubles.

The second game was much different. Yamauchi drove in two runs with a double in the second inning, but HPU would tie it with two runs of their own in the third. One of those runs came on a monster home run by Joseph Gallagher deep over the left field fence. 

HPU had chased UHH starting pitcher Jonathan Buhl by the third inning with three runs across. Sadler then entered and was greeted by a single off the bat of catcher Scott Laur which scored that third run, but the inning ended when center fielder Rustin Ho tossed out the potential go-ahead run at third base with a perfect one-hop throw.

Sadler struck out two in a scoreless fourth to keep the score at 3-3. In the bottom half, Lawson Faria led off with a two-bagger, stole third base and then scampered home on a wild pitch issued by Shark starting pitcher Brandon Peterson. That would turn out to be the winning run. 

Aftrer Hirata had a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, Lee-Lehano entered the game in the top of the sixth with the same, facing just three batters.. In the top of the seventh, Cole Kashimoto led off with an infield single, but Lee-Lehano got the next two batters on ground outs. Facing Gallagher, power versus power, Lee-Lehano got the Shark slugger to chase a high fastball for the final out of the game.

The Vulcans had just four hits in the game against Peterson and reliever Daniel Cortez. HPU had six, but only two in the last four innings against relievers Sadler, Hirata and Lee-Lehano. 

The two teams will square off again on Sunday in a doubleheader that will start at noon.

WATCH AGAIN (if you purchased the game originally)
Game One
Game Two