WAIPAHU, Hawai'i – The 22nd-ranked Hawai'i Hilo baseball team rapped out 23 hits Sunday afternoon to storm past HPU, 13-8, and take the rubber match of a three-game non-conference tilt at Patsy T. Mink Central O'ahu Regional Park.
Ten of those hits came from Mason Cook and Ryan Cho, who each put on a 5-for-6 performance at the plate with three runs scored at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots in the lineup, respectively.
Cho got the Vulcans on the scoreboard early with a two-run home run in the first inning.
After the Sharks got a run back in the bottom half, Cook drove in another run in the second inning followed by a solo homer from Alec Yamauchi in the third. Cho added two more runs on an RBI hit to make it a 5-1 score in the fourth inning.
HPU continued to battle back with runs scored in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to make it just a one-run game at 9-8, but Hawai'i Hilo never let up by driving in a pair of runs in the seventh and ninth innings to close out the victory.
Jake Liberta finished the game on 2.1 innings of work to nab his nation-leading eighth save of the season.
Cho finished the three-game series batting 10 for 15 with seven RBI and six runs scored.
Kein Iwata batted 4 for 9 with four walks and five runs scored while totaling six assists and three putouts at third base.
Every batter in the Vulcans lineup recorded a hit as it was the most hits in a single game since last year's 22-hit outing on Feb. 26, 2022.
WHAT'S NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to 17-7 overall (8-5 Pacific West Conference) as HPU moved to a 10-15 record (6-9 PacWest).
The Vulcans will head to northern California to resume PacWest Conference play with games against Holy Names, Academy of Art and Fresno Pacific March 31 – April 11.
Hawai'i Hilo will return to Francis Wong Stadium to host HPU for their final home games April 21–23 before traveling back to O'ahu to close out the regular season with four more games against the Sharks April 28–30.
The four-team PacWest Championships postseason tournament will be held May 10–12 in Fresno, California.
TOP 25 RANKINGS
The Vulcans dropped nine spots to move to a No. 22 ranking in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association NCAA Division II poll released this past Wednesday.
Hawai'i Hilo also fell a spot back to No. 3 in the latest West Region rankings released last Monday.
No. 4 Cal State San Bernardino holds the top spot in the region with No. 19 Azusa Pacific taking the second slot ahead of the Vulcans.
