WAIPAHU, Hawai'i – HPU capitalized on early miscues as the Hawai'i Hilo baseball team fell to the Sharks, 5-1, Friday evening in Pacific West Conference action at the Patsy T. Mink Central O'ahu Regional Park.
The Sharks scored three early runs in the bottom of the first after what could have been a quick three-up, three-down inning. But after an error and a hit batsman, HPU managed to string together three consecutive hits for a 3-0 lead.
HPU mustered up 11 total hits while the Vulcans had just five as the Sharks starting pitcher Andrew Hauck went the distance with 9.0 innings of work while notching nine strikeouts.
Mason Cook led the Vulcans with two hits and the lone run scored after leading off the fifth inning with a double down the left-field line. After advancing on a wild pitch, Kobie Russell drove him in on an RBI groundout.
WHAT'S NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to 13-15 in the PacWest (24-17 overall) as HPU moved to a 13-17 record (18-26 overall).
The Vulcans will continue against HPU with a doubleheader Saturday and then a single game on Sunday.
The four-team PacWest Championships postseason tournament will be held May 10–12 in Fresno, California at FPU.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE WEST
Hawai'i Hilo remained at No. 10 in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association NCAA Division II West Regional rankings released this past Monday.
The Vulcans were also listed as teams "under consideration" in the first official NCAA Regional Rankings released on Wednesday.
The eight-team list will have two more iterations before the final six qualifying schools are unveiled on the NCAA Selection Show on May 14. In addition to the three champions from the PacWest Conference, Great Northwest Athletic Conference and the California Collegiate Athletic Association, three at-large spots will be up for grabs for the West Region bracket.
