HILO, Hawai'i – It was a marathon on opening night as an eight-run top of the eighth inning doomed Hawai'i Hilo Baseball, 11-10, Friday evening in non-conference play at the James "Jimmy" Correa Ballfield at Francis Wong Stadium.
With the Vulcans leading 7-2, the Cougars (from Sioux Falls, South Dakota out of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) managed to plate eight runs after stringing together three hits with help from three defensive errors and five free passes to first base.
Still, the Vulcans battled through to the end, and with a four-run deficit and down to its final at-bats, the home team rallied on two outs with a two-RBI triple by Chris Varljen and an RBI base hit by Noah Lane to bring the score within one. Vance Oshiro walked to put the potential walk-off run on the base paths, but that would be it as a hard-hit ground out up the middle ended the game.
Lane, a redshirt-junior, got the start in right field and recorded three putouts while batting 3 for 5 with three total RBI, two stolen bases and a run scored.
Both teams piled up with each giving 11 free passes to batters, but the Vulcans committed six errors to just one by the Cougars.
Luke Dickson got the opening-game start on the rubber as Hawai'i Hilo utilized eight different pitchers.
UP NEXT: Saturday, Feb. 8 (2 PM + 5 PM) vs Sioux Falls (Hilo, Hawai'i / James "Jimmy" Correa Ballfield at Francis Wong Stadium)
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