Bows suffer first loss to CSUN since 2018 in four-set defeat, 25-23, 25-16, 22-25, 25-21

Bows suffer first loss to CSUN since 2018 in four-set defeat, 25-23, 25-16, 22-25, 25-21

Bows suffer first loss to CSUN since 2018 in four-set defeat, 25-23, 25-16, 22-25, 25-21

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED MARCH 24, 2024

HONOLULU — Sometimes it’s just not your night.

The second-ranked Hawai’i men’s volleyball team fell to No. 18 Cal State Northridge for the first time since 2018 with a four-set loss Saturday night before a crowd of 6,839 at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center. Set scores were 25-23, 25-16, 22-25 and 25-21.

The Rainbow Warriors committed 10 more attack errors than the Matadors in the loss as they dropped to 18-4 and 1-3 in Big West play.

CSUN (10-11, 1-3) came out firing to start, hitting .560 and 0.480 to in the first and second set. The Matadors took a dip in the third set with seven of their 13 hitting errors in the frame, but they were able to turn back Hawai’i in the following stanza to snap a nine-match losing streak to the ‘Bows.

“Northridge played great, they really did,” said Hawai’i coach Charlie Wade. “Guys were jumping high and hitting hard all night. Their setter does a really good job and their serve receive was better than ours. We got a little better in the third and fourth, but they were literally falling and diving and putting balls right to the target. Some nights are like that. They got really good arms, they got some guys that can jump and hit, their setter is really good and they were good all night and we were just OK.”

Redshirt freshman Jalen Phillips had 17 kills, senior Griffin Walters had 15 and redshirt senior Kyle Hobus put down 11 kills to help CSUN pick up its first win in the Stan Sheriff Center since 2013.

“I think some of that team too were a pretty veteran group,” said Wade. “I got to think that’s the first time they’ve beaten us in their careers right, and you just get tired of losing and coming in here and playing in this (atmosphere), it’s the closest thing to the NBA that I’ve ever seen. Everybody plays good in this building.”

Freshman Louis Sakanoko led the way for the ‘Bows in the loss with 19 kills after recording just one kill in the opening set. Opposite Alakai’i Todd also finished with double digit kills with 12. The next leading attacker for Hawai’i just had four kills.

The ‘Bows will look to bounce back this weekend against UC Santa Barbara in their final home matches of the regular season.

Hawai’i blasts San Diego State, 16-0, to clinch season series

Hawai’i blasts San Diego State, 16-0, to clinch season series

Hawai’i blasts San Diego State, 16-0, to clinch season series

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED MARCH 23, 2024

HONOLULU — Sixteen runs per game might be the new norm for the Hawai’i baseball team.

The Rainbow Warriors were nothing short of dominant in game two of their series against San Diego State as they manhandled the Aztecs, 16-0, to clinch the season series Saturday night at the Les Murakami Stadium.

It was the second straight game that Hawai’i (14-7) tallied 16 runs as it overcame a 4-0 deficit to top SDSU the night before, 16-5.

While the total amount of runs scored were the same, the Rainbow Warriors’ doubled the number of hits recorded with 20 in game two of the series.

Designated hitter Austin Machado brought the big bat on Saturday with six total RBIs with a bases-clearing double in the fourth inning and a three-run bomb in the sixth inning.

Jake Tsukada, who set a school record for number of HBPs in a game with four on Friday, had the most hits in the game with a 3-for-5 performance at the plate. Tsukada and Stone Miyao each also crossed home plate three times.

Left-handed pitcher Randy Abshier (1-1) had his best game of the year on the mound as he picked up his first pitching win of the season with seven strikeouts in six shutout innings.

Dylan Waite, Sebastian Gonzalez and Brayden Marx each pitched an inning after Abshier came out to help preserve the shutout.

The Rainbow Warriors will look to complete the season sweep Sunday in a 1:05 p.m. tilt.

Bows flip the script in series opener against San Diego State, 16-5

Bows flip the script in series opener against San Diego State, 16-5

Bows flip the script in series opener against San Diego State, 16-5

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED MARCH 23, 2024

HONOLULU — Freaky Friday or Manoa Magic?

Whatever it may be, it still was a ‘W’ for the Rainbow Warriors. 

The Hawai’i baseball team rallied from a 4-0 deficit with 13 consecutive runs across the fifth and sixth innings en route to a 16-5 win over San Diego State in the series opener for both teams Friday night at Les Murakami Stadium.

Jake Tsukada was key at the plate, but in an unexpected way. Tsukada set the school record for the most HBPs in a a game with four as he also earned two RBIs in the process. He was credited with bringing home the ‘Bows’ first run of the game when he took one on his back to score Kyson Donahue.

“He’s been doing that lately. He just doesn’t move his feet which allows him to really see the ball and I’m happy for him,” coach Rich Hill said of Tsukada. “He (was) a little kid going to games here at the Les. Now he’s getting a chance to help our team win a championship. Happy for him.”

After Tsukada was hit to score the first run for Hawai’i (13-7), Austin Machado also drew a HBP with the bases loaded to bring Elijah Ickes home. Matthew Miura then singled to left field to score Jordan Donahue before Stone Miyao reached on a dropped ball in left field with one out that allowed Tsukada to come home to tie the game at four.

Dallas Duarte’s two RBI single to left field on the next at bat gave the ‘Bows the lead for good as Miyao and Miura scored to make it a 6-4 game. 

Another error gave Hawai’i its seventh run of the game before another bases-loaded HBP drawn by Tsukada provided the final score of the inning. 

“I feel great,” Tsukada said. “If I have to get hit to bring runs in then I’ll do it any day of the week.”

Another unusual statistic that occurred for the Bows is when middle reliever Danny Veloz threw four strikeouts in the top of the sixth inning. His third strikeout of the game came on a wild pitch, which allowed the batter to reach first. Veloz (3-0) was also credited with the win in two innings of work with five strikeouts against seven batters faced.

“That’s another one to add to the Manoa Magic,” Hill said of Veloz’s four strikeouts in one inning. “I think it’s a full moon.”

Starter Alex Giroux retired the first eight batters he faced in order before the Aztecs (6-14) put together a two-out rally with a walk and four consecutive hits to take a 3-0 lead after the top of the third. Giroux got into another jam in the fourth, but was able to get a pop out with the bases loaded for the second out before giving way to left-handed pitcher Harrison Bodendorf, who got the out against left-handed batter Shaun Montoya to end the half-inning.

“It was a good matchup there and I thought Bodey came in and went one-two right away, got ahead of the hitter, really did a good job,” said Hill.

“I think before that, Alex really did a good job getting that guy to pop up at the end of his outing. We got a infield fly pop up and then a left on left (matchup), big out to keep it at 3-0 so it was a big moment in the game.”

The Aztecs managed to score another run with two outs in the top of the fifth inning before the ‘Bows flipped the game in their favor in the bottom of the frame. Hawai’i tallied eight total runs in the fifth on just three hits and two errors by SDSU, who used four different pitchers to get out of the inning.

“That’s our team right there,” Tsukada said of the fifth-inning rally. “We’re not afraid when we’re down. It’s a long game, we got fight and it’s a testament to these guys here. They work hard and we know the things we’ll start falling our way and we just stuck to it.”

The ‘Bows added five runs in the bottom of the sixth through the conventional route, scoring five runs on four hits.

SDSU broke the scoring drought with one run in the top of the eighth before Hawai’i scored three more times in the bottom of the inning for the final score.

Jordan Donahue went 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBIs, three runs scored and the team’s only double while Machado drove in four total runs to spearhead the offensive production for the ‘Bows. Kyson Donahue was also solid with four runs scored.

Both teams will continue their series Saturday night at 6:35 p.m.

HPU and Chaminade split non-conference softball double-header

HPU and Chaminade split non-conference softball double-header

HPU and Chaminade split non-conference softball double-header

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED MARCH 17, 2024

KANEOHE — These two teams sure like to make things fun at the end.

Hawai’i Pacific and Chaminade split a non-conference softball double-header Saturday afternoon with each team notching a one-run victory at Howard A. Okita Field.

The last time the two teams played, the Silverswords took both games with an extra-inning 6-5 win and a 2-1 win over the Sharks on March 3.

HPU was finally able to strike back against its rival on Saturday with a walk-off 6-5 win in game one with shortstop Jewel Larson providing the game-winning RBI. This helped the Sharks snap an 11-game losing streak to earn their fourth win of the year.

Chaminade trailed for most of game two, but surged ahead on a sacrifice fly by pinch hitter Desiree Bravo in the fifth before taking the lead on shortstop Taryn Fujioka’s single in the top of the seventh. Larson nearly played hero again for HPU, but a double-play ended the game to secure the 2-1 victory for the Swords (9-7).

The game-sealing play went from center fielder Summer Buck to Fujioka to catcher Larchelle Tuifao to get the game-tying run out at home trying to score from second before Tuifao fired it to third baseman Jaeda Kumaewa-Cabunoc to get Larson out at the corner.

Fujioka was the star of the afternoon, batting 7-for-8 overall with two RBIs in the leadoff spot.

HPU (4-16) tallied nine hits in both games, with Larson and Taimane Panganoran getting three hits each across the two contests.

Taylor Thompson (3-5) was credited with the complete game pitching win for the Sharks in game one. She gave up 11 hits and five unearned runs, but HPU was able to rally with three unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh for the win.

Getting the win in the pitching circle for the Swords in game two was Kamryn Lopez (5-2).

The Sharks will not play another game until next month when they take on Academy of Art in a four-game series that starts on April 2.

Chaminade will have 10 days off before their 12-game road trip in California when the Swords resume PacWest play against Concordia University-Irvine on March 26.

GAME 1

GAME 2

Rainbow Wahine outlasts UNLV in five sets for exhibition win

Rainbow Wahine outlasts UNLV in five sets for exhibition win

Rainbow Wahine outlasts UNLV in five sets for exhibition win

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED MARCH 13, 2024

HONOLULU — A little close for comfort, but a fun night nonetheless.

The Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine started off the first of three spring exhibition matches with a thrilling five-set win over UNLV Tuesday at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center. Set scores were 25-22, 18-25, 25-15, 22-25, 15-13.

Caylen Alexander led a quartet of attackers in double-digit kills with a double-double of 18 kills and 12 digs while hitting .371 for the match. Stella Adeyemi and Paula Guersching each had 13 kills in four sets played and Jacyn Bamis had 10 to round out the attack.

Kate Lang started the first, third and fifth set and finished with 33 assists in four sets played. Tayli Ikenaga had a match-high 17 digs for the ‘Bows.

Hawai’i continues exhibition play this week with a Wednesday match against Colorado State before wrapping up the spring slate with a Thursday match against Notre Dame.