KANE'OHE, Hawai'i – Victoria Macias continued to produce at the plate as the Hawai'i Hilo Softball team opened Pacific West Conference play with a doubleheader sweep of HPU, 4-2 (nine innings) and 12-0 (five innings), Sunday afternoon at Howard A. Okita Field.

Carrying on from a two-run walk-off home run in the Vulcans' most recent game, Macias clutched up again in the ninth inning of Game 1 with a bases-loaded two-RBI double off the center field fence. The freshman then kept it rolling into Game 2 with a 3-for-4 outing and three RBI.

Official stats and box scores were not available at time of postgame release.

The two teams were originally slated to also meet for a doubleheader Saturday afternoon but those games were canceled due to inclement weather.

GAME 1: HAWAI'I HILO 4 - HPU 2 (9 INNINGS)

• Madison Rabe went the whole nine innings for the win to move her pitching record to 4-0 on the season.
• Chasing one run and seemingly down to their final outs in the top of the seventh inning, Jayda Favela drew a lead-off walk before coming around to tie the score on a sacrifice fly from Lexie Tilton. Favela had early brought in the Vulcans first run with a two-out RBI single in the fourth inning.
• In the top of the ninth, the Vulcans quickly got two down in order before rallying for back-to-back walks and a reach-on-an-error to load the bases, bringing up Macias to come through in the clutch to deliver the game-winning runs.

GAME 2: HAWAI'I HILO 12 - HPU 0 (5 INNINGS)

• Tehani Seto moved to 2-0 with the truncated complete-game shutout, reportedly giving up just two hits to the Sharks.
• Hawai'i Hilo bested its Game-1 total by one in drawing 10 total walks at the plate. Nine of those free passes resulted in a run scored.
• The Vulcans scored four runs in the opening frame followed by a seven-run fourth inning.

UP NEXT

Hawai'i Hilo moved to a 7-1 record (2-0 PacWest) while HPU moved to 3-9 overall (0-2 PacWest). The two teams will meet again for the regular-season finale with a doubleheader April 21 on the Big Island.

The Vulcans will have their first official home games this weekend against Dominican, March 1-2, with first pitch set for noon at the Vulcan Softball Field.

VIDEO STREAM PACKAGES

The Hawai'i Hilo Softball team will have 14 home games available to be viewed online in partnership with Out of the Sea Media Arts Inc.

Single-game viewing will be priced at $7.50 with a season-package offering of $78.75.

More information is available at HiloAthletics.com/LiveStream.

PACWEST HAWAI'I CHALLENGE

In an effort to elevate Hawai'i-based rivalries, the PacWest Hawai'i Challenge has awarded the top school in athletics competition among the state's Division II institutions going back to the late 1970s.

Comprising 10 sports that all three schools participate in, points are awarded from head-to-head Pacific West Conference matchups as well as final placements at conference-ending championship events. The team with the highest total gets three points while the second highest gets two and the third-place finisher receives one.

Basketball action will wrap up at the end of the week to give a slightly clearer picture of this year's race with Chaminade narrowly leading both Hawai'i Hilo and HPU by one point.