Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans Athletics

HAWAI'I HILO VULCANS ATHLETICS
Russell swinging
6
Winner Hawai'i Hilo UHH 13-12, 13-9 PacWest
4
Hawai'i Pacific HPU 9-17, 9-13 PacWest
Winner
Hawai'i Hilo UHH
13-12, 13-9 PacWest
6
Final
4
Hawai'i Pacific HPU
9-17, 9-13 PacWest
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Hawai'i Hilo UHH 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 1 0 6 12 0
Hawai'i Pacific HPU 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 4 10 2

W: Umino, Takashi (1-0) L: Dragmire, Grant (0-3) S: Kea, John (5)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Vulcans Clinch, Book SoCal Trip

HONOLULU, Oahu--There's the proverbial monkey on your back, and maybe in this case, it was a gorilla. 

The Hawaii Hilo baseball team, needing just one more win their last six times out, got it on Saturday afternoon with a 6-4 victory over Hawaii Pacific. The reward? The Hawaii Pod title and a trip to Azusa Pacific next week for the Pacific West Conference AQ Pod Series.

The Vulcans finished the regular season with a 13-12 overall record and a 13-9 mark against the Sharks. Hawaii Pacific's year ends at 9-17 overall and 9-13 against the Vulcans.

Hawaii Pacific grabbed an early lead on Micah Layosa's two-run home run and the Vulcans left seven runners on base through the first three innings. UH Hilo finally broke through in the fourth with a two-out rally that started with a Casey Yamauchi double. Trey Yukumoto singled him home and later scored on Kobie Russell's RBI-single. Still, UHH left three more runners on base.

UHH left five more runners stranded in the next two innings and meanwhile, HPU scored a run in the fifth to tie it at 3-3. In the top of the seventh, the Vulcans scored two runs on just one hit to take the lead back at 5-3, and the Sharks pulled back to within one plate crossing in the bottom half (5-4). The Vulcans countered with insurance in the eighth on a Yukumoto RBI-hit.

With a two-run cushion, UHH closer John Kea took the hill. He gave up on single, but got the final out when he knocked down a liine drive and then tossed underhand to the first baseman Russell to end the game and send his team celebrating near the pitcher's mound.

The Vulcans snapped a five-game losing skid with the all-important win. They managed despite leaving 18 runners on base, an average of two per inning. Chris Aubort had three hits and two RBI, while John Bicos, Yukomoto and Russell all had two hits eachs. 

Kea picked up his fifth save of the season, and Takashi Umino picked up his first win as a Vulcan (1-0) with 2.2 innings of strong relief work (one run, five strikeouts). 

The Vulcans will open up the AQ Pod Series with a 4 pm Thursday game against Academy of Art at Cougar Field. UH Hilo, Azusa Pacific and ART will play each other twice over three days, and the team with the best record will earn the PacWest's automatic bid to the NCAA West Regional tournament. 

 
Print Friendly Version