HPU Drops Sunday Rubber Match as Hawai’i-Hilo Bats Explode for 23 Hits

HPU Drops Sunday Rubber Match as Hawai’i-Hilo Bats Explode for 23 Hits

Mar 27, 2023

HPU Drops Sunday Rubber Match as Hawai’i-Hilo Bats Explode for 23 Hits

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED MAR 27, 2023

WAIPAHU — When it rains, it pours, and when the Hawai’i-Hilo Vulcans offense got hot on Sunday, it stayed hot. 

The Hawai’i Pacific University baseball team dropped the final game of a 3-game series against cross-island rival Hilo on March 26, falling 13-8 to the Vulcans while giving up 23 hits in the process.

After splitting Saturday’s double header, the Sharks looked to build off the momentum of the previous evening’s 6-5 comeback victory that saw HPU hold the Vulcans offense scoreless for the final five innings of the game.

Hilo’s Ryan Cho started things off with a bang, literally.

The Vulcans first baseman kept a hot weekend at the plate going in the first inning, crushing a Ryan Schuelke offering way over the left field fence to score Mason Cook and give Hilo an early 2-0 lead. 

 

The Sharks looked to answer right back in the bottom half of the first, as the first three batters reached for HPU.

Hilo starter Eamon Velarde settled down though, getting Richard Higa to strike out swinging before Chase Taylor brought in Nicholas Jio with a sacrifice fly to right field. Velarde would then get Noah Hata to ground out to second to escape the jam with only one run of damage.

A two-out single by Hilo’s Cook got the run right back for the Vulcans in the top of the second as the catcher picked up his second single of the day. Cook, along with Cho, picked up five hits apiece in Sunday’s win.

Alec Yamauchi added another run to the Hilo lead with a home run to left field in the top of the third, and Cho laced a single up the middle in the fourth to bring Brayden Yoshida around to score and make it 5-1, Vulcans.

The Sharks cut it back to two, 5-3, following a Hilo error that allowed both Jio and center fielder D.J. Stephens to cross home in the bottom of the fourth. 

Just like the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday, the Vulcans had an answer for every HPU comeback try.

Kein Iwata picked up his lone RBI of the day with a double in the fifth, then scored the very next batter as Yoshida singled to left. 

Once again, HPU tried to keep it close.

Taylor blasted a long home run to center field in the bottom half of the fifth after Higa led off the inning with a walk. The Sharks continued to threaten after Hata was hit by a pitch and swiped 2nd, but Travis Johnson tapped one back to the mound for the final out of the inning. 

The Vulcans got the runs right back once again, recording three straight hits to start the sixth inning and using a Chris Varljen sac fly to bring home Alec Yamauchi to make it 9-5 Hilo through five and a half innings of play.

A wacky bottom of the sixth saw the Sharks get four straight free passes and use a passed ball to make it 9-7 with runners on second and third and nobody out. 

Higa was caught too far from the bag on Chase Taylor’s lineout to right field, getting doubled up while TJ Smith tagged up to cut the Hilo lead to one. 

Once again, the Vulcans had an answer as Cook picked up another hit with an RBI single up the middle and Blake Tweedt helped him score with a single to right field, giving Hilo much needed breathing room. 

UH-H added two more insurance runs in the top of the ninth, as the 22nd ranked Vulcans looked to close out the visit to O’ahu with a series victory over the Sharks. 

Jake Liberta came in to lock things down for the visitors in the 7th and finished his 2.1 innings strong, striking out the side in the ninth to pick up his eighth save of the season. 

Nick Agacki was credited with the win for Hilo and Schuelke took the loss for Hawai’i Pacific.

The Vulcans (17-7) were led by Cook and Cho, each going 5-6 and combining for 5 RBI in the victory, as Hilo heads to the mainland for a 12-game trip.

Taylor knocked in half of HPU’s runs, registering 4 RBI in Sunday’s loss. The Sharks (10-15) will also head to the mainland for a long road trip of their own, spanning 14 games and five different opponents. 

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Two Games, Two Comebacks, Two Results: HPU Splits Saturday Twinbill Against Cross-Island Rival Hilo

Two Games, Two Comebacks, Two Results: HPU Splits Saturday Twinbill Against Cross-Island Rival Hilo

Mar 26, 2023

Two Games, Two Comebacks, Two Results: HPU Splits Saturday Twinbill Against Cross-Island Rival Hilo 

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED MAR 26, 2023

WAIPAHU — A beautiful start to the weekend saw a pair of exciting rivalry games go down to the wire on Saturday. Hawai’i Pacific University (10-14) split the March 25 doubleheader against cross-island rival Hawai’i Hilo (16-7), falling in the first game of the day, 14-12, before avenging the loss in game two and finishing a five-run rally to beat the Vulcans, 6-5 in 7 innings. 
Game One: Sharks Comeback Comes Up Short The nationally-ranked Vulcans, who took a fall in the Week 6 national rankings from a top-15 spot down to 22nd, jumped on HPU starter Jack O’Brien with two outs in the first inning. A Ryan Cho double to left followed by an Alec Yamauchi RBI single gave Hilo an early 1-0 lead. HPU would answer back an inning later, as Frankie Peralez went the other way with runners on the corners and two out to tie the game at one. Hilo’s bats erupted in the middle innings, starting with a Casey Yamauchi grand slam with none out in the top of the fourth. A Blake Tweedt home run capped a 7-run top of the fourth inning for the Vulcans. The hits kept rolling in the fifth inning, as the visitors poured on four more runs to open up a 12-1 lead at the game’s midway point. 
The Sharks would fight back, scratching one more run off Hilo starter Christian DeJesus in the fifth to cut it to 12-2. The Vulcans went to the bullpen to start the sixth, and the HPU hitters capitalized on the pitching change in a big way. Hawai’i Pacific needed an inning to adjust to new Vulcans pitcher James Yamasaki, but used a six-run seventh inning powered by a Nicholas Jim 2-run home run to cut Hawai’i Hilo’s lead,12-8.
The visitors answered back in the top half of the next inning, putting up a pair of insurance runs to push the lead back up to six runs, 14-8. HPU would not go quietly though, as the first pair of Sharks batters reached and then Richard Higa took Orlando Leon Jr. deep for a 3-run home run to slice it to 14-11 in the bottom of the ninth with nobody out.  A TJ Smith double into the gap brought the tying run to the plate for the Sharks with two outs to work with, but the miraculous comeback was not in the cards for the home team as Christian Wood retired the last two HPU batters to record the save for the Vulcans and take game one.
Jack O’Brien was charged with the loss for the Sharks, dropping his record to 2-4 on the season. The righty finished the day with 3.1 IP, giving up eight earned runs on 10 hits, walking one and recording one strikeout. The Sharks used eight different hurlers in the first of the two games, while Hilo used five throwers. Christian DeJesus earned the win for the Vulcans, going five innings strong and giving up two runs on seven hits, walking two Sharks and recording one strikeout. It was DeJesus’s third win of the season and Christian Wood’s first save of the year for the Vulcans. Game Two: Sharks Complete Comeback to Stun Vulcans 
Despite the break between games, Hilo’s bats stayed hot. Just like the first game of the day, the visitors jumped on HPU’s starter. This time, it was left-handler Andrew Hauck giving up a pair of opening frame runs before the Sharks even came to bat.  The Vulcans kept the good times rolling in the second inning, piling on three more runs to take a 5-0 lead just nine total outs into the game.
Just as in the day’s first game though, Hawai’i Pacific would not go down without a fight and this time buckled down defensively as well. DJ Stephens helped get the Sharks on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second, dropping a single into right field to score Richard Higa and cut the deficit to four runs. HPU continued to chip away in the fourth, pushing three more runs across the plate with back-to-back singles from Jio and Kota Suzuki with the bases loaded. In a 7-inning second game of a double header, it was important for the Sharks to get closer quickly. 
After a shaky first two innings from Hauck, the southpaw settled in to throw three straight scoreless innings and keep the Sharks in the game while the offense worked. Hauck ended his day with 5.0 IP, allowing five runs against him in the first two frames and giving up seven hits. The lefty also walked a pair of batters to go along with seven punchouts. While he left without a chance to record a win for his own record, he had helped the Sharks stay in position to steal a win for theirs from the Vulcans.
Right-hander Mac Leisher gave up a hit in his one inning of work, the sixth, but held Hilo off the board once again. HPU completed the comeback in the bottom half of the frame, using a one-out Noah Hata pinch-hit single to score Stephens from second base and tie the game at five apiece. Hata took second following a Ty Honda wild pitch, then advanced to third on a sacrifice fly down the left field line by Jio. Leon Jr. was brought in to try and escape the jam for the Vulcans, but Suzuki laced a single right back at Leon Jr., hitting off the righty’s glove and into no-man’s land to score Hata and give the Sharks their first lead of the night. 
HPU’s stud closer Ryan Inouye entered in the top of the seventh, looking to finish off the cross-island rival and earn a split. The hard thrower struck out the first two Vulcan batters, hitting over 90 miles per hour a few times on his fastball. He induced an Alec Yamauchi pop-up to right for the final out of the night.  Inouye earned the win for his performance, striking out two in his one inning of work in the Sharks’ 6-5 win.
The two squads go at it again on Sunday, March 26 at CORP 4 Field in Waipahu, with the first pitch slated to be around noon HST. 
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Gallery: Hawai’i Pacific vs. Concordia Irvine

Gallery: Hawai’i Pacific vs. Concordia Irvine

Mar 4, 2023

Photo Gallery: Hawai’i Pacific vs Concordia Irvine

MAR 4, 2023

GAME 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Concordia 2 0 0 3 0 3 8 11 0
HPU Sharks 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
GAME 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Concordia 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 5 0
HPU Sharks 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
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Spurgin’s Double-Double Not Enough as Concordia Beats HPU in PacWest Quarterfinals

Mar 2, 2023

Photo: hpusharks.com

Spurgin’s Double-Double Not Enough as Concordia Beats HPU in PacWest Quarterfinals

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED MAR 2, 2023

HONOLULU — Turns out, the third time was not the charm.

For the third time this season, the Concordia University Irvine Golden Eagles defeated the Hawai’i Pacific University Sharks, 55-48, this time in the 2023 PacWest Tournament quarterfinals.

HPU graduate center Abby Spurgin, the 2022-23 PacWest Player of the Year, had herself another day at the office with 19 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. Junior guard Haley Masaki chipped in 10 points before fouling out in the final seconds.

Jasmine Rachel led the way for the Golden Eagles, who move on to the semifinals where they will take on Dominican, the conference’s second-best regular season squad. Teagan Thurman, the sophomore transfer who earned third-team All-PacWest honors, had herself a nice afternoon with 12 points and seven rebounds.

The Sharks got going early, putting an emphasis on getting the ball down low to the conference’s player of the year. Spurgin did an impressive job sealing defenders in the post and got plenty of looks as HPU force-fed the big touches in the paint. 

Spurgin’s contributions helped lead the Sharks to a 13-12 first quarter advantage, but turnovers in the second quarter by the PacWest’s sixth seed helped CUI surge ahead. The Golden Eagles led, 20-19, as the teams headed to the locker rooms for the halftime break. 

Despite trailing at half, the Sharks defense had been up to the task for the first two quarters. HPU had held CUI’s All-PacWest first-team selection Jasmine Rachal to eight points on 4-of-15 shooting from the floor. Rachal was visibly frustrated at times as she struggled with her touch in the opening 20 minutes. 

Though play was even through about six minutes of action in the second half, every miss by the Sharks felt increasingly crucial. When CUI guard Kendall Jackson knocked down the game’s first 3-pointer to take a 29-27 lead for the Golden Eagles, it felt like Concordia had just taken control again despite HPU’s best efforts.

HPU would end the quarter down by four, 37-33, after Rachal got a layup to go just before the horn. With time becoming an enemy, the Sharks needed points and fast as the team entered the game’s final 10 minutes.

The Sharks gave up the first three points of the fourth quarter before going on a 10-3 run to tie it at 43, aided by the Golden Eagles fouling so much that HPU entered the bonus with more than six minutes left in regulation. 

Unfortunately for the sixth seed, that early fourth quarter push would be the final one for HPU. Rachal would go on to score seven of CUI’s final 12 points, as missed free throws hurt the Sharks’ chances at a comeback and HPU fell, 55-48.

The Sharks dropped to 14-14 overall on the season, the first with head coach Katie Novak at the helm. 

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Sharks Look to Ground Golden Eagles as PacWest Tournament Action Begins

Sharks Look to Ground Golden Eagles as PacWest Tournament Action Begins

Mar 1, 2023

Photo credit: hpusharks.com

Sharks Look to Ground Golden Eagles as PacWest Tournament Action Begins

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED MAR 1, 2023

HONOLULU — Third time is the charm?

The Hawai’i Pacific University women’s basketball team (14-13, 12-8 PacWest) will head over to McCabe Gym on the campus of Chaminade on Thursday, March 2 to take on the Concordia University Golden Eagles in the quarterfinals of the Pacific West conference tournament. Tip-off is expected to be at 12:30 P.M. HST. 

The Sharks have seen the Golden Eagles twice already this season, dropping both games to CUI. The team hopes the third matchup of the season against the conference foes results in a better outcome.

The first game, played on January 3 at “The Shark Tank”, saw HPU fall in overtime, 92-90. The second game came just a week ago, when the Sharks traveled to CUI as part of the final road trip of the season. A monster second quarter run by CUI proved to be too much, as HPU’s comeback fell short, 78-60.

It was a road trip that head coach Katie Novak was unable to accompany her team on, as the first-year head coach of the program gave birth to her second child, a healthy baby girl born on the morning of February 22. 

“We just didn’t play very consistently,” Novak said Wednesday about her team’s road trip. “We knew this was going to be a hard road trip. We knew with some minor injuries; we wouldn’t have some people and that would hurt depth a little bit. That’s just what you deal with at [the] end of the season.”

The Sharks are expected to be mostly back to full strength as the Golden Eagles come to town. That is important for the Sharks top end talent, but also the depth of the rotation as the team looks to make a run towards a PacWest title.

The Sharks are led by Abby Spurgin, the 2023 PacWest Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and an All-PacWest first-team selection. The 6’3 graduate-student averaged 22 points per contest and more than nine rebounds. The post player also patrols the paint for HPU, leading the team in blocks with more than two per game. 

While Spurgin is the engine, the Sharks have many key pieces that are important to the team’s success. Avery Cargill, the confident senior guard, averages more than 11 points a game to give the Sharks a secondary scoring option on the outside. Her contributions are crucial to opening the offensive end in the paint and from long range. She was selected to the PacWest’s third team for her season. 

Kalina Obrey, the Sharks junior forward from Honolulu, is one of the team’s most dynamic offensive threats and missed both Concordia games this season. The Hawai’i-native averages more than 13 points a game to go along with seven rebounds.  

On the other side of the court, Concordia brings a pair of All-PacWest selections into the contest as well.

CUI graduate guard Jasmine Rachal was also selected to the PacWest’s first-team, averaging over 16 points a night on 37% shooting from long-range. It was Rachal’s second career selection to the first-team squad. She has the fifth-most points in program history, eclipsing the 1,600 point mark this season.

Rachal had 16 points back in the Jan. 3 matchup between the two teams, dealing with foul trouble throughout the game at HPU. The All-PacWest selection got loose in the second matchup though, dropping a game-high 22 points in just 25 minutes.

Sophomore center Teagan Thurman proved to be a big-time addition to the CUI roster, transferring into the program after spending last season at Northwest Nazarene, a Division II institution in Idaho.

The 6’1 transfer earned Third-Team All-PacWest honors for her sophomore campaign, averaging just under 14 points per game and leading the team in rebounds with more than seven boards a contest.

“She’s big and she’s physical,” Novak said of CUI’s sophomore big. “She stays active. There’s not a lot of bigs that are as big as her and Abby [Spurgin] are that can actually move well too. She’s a good player and if you’re not active against a player like that, she’ll take advantage of that.”

The Golden Eagles’ center will be tasked with trying to slow down HPU’s Spurgin, something that CUI was able to do better in the second of the two matchups. Spurgin had 31 points in the Jan. 3 loss to CUI but was held to just 12 points in last week’s loss to the Golden Eagles.

The winner will move on to the semifinals, where Dominican awaits after a dominant 15-5 conference slate. Dominican is the second seed in the tournament, behind Azusa Pacific. Fourth-seeded Biola will take on Point Loma in the other quarterfinal matchup after the Sharks and Golden Eagles play. 

The quarterfinal matchup between HPU and CUI will be broadcast on Hawai’i Sports Radio Network, 95.1 FM, AM 760 and on hawaiisportsradio.com‘s stream. Tip-off is at 12:30 P.M. HST.

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Sharks Walk-Off Vikings, Earn Twin-bill Split For 1st Win of 2023

Sharks Walk-Off Vikings, Earn Twin-bill Split For 1st Win of 2023

Feb 19, 2023

Sharks Walk-Off Vikings, Earn Twin-bill Split For 1st Win of 2023

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED FEB 19, 2023

SAND ISLAND — After a stormy Saturday morning gave way to a nice afternoon, the Hawai’i Pacific University softball team (1-8) split a double-header against the Western Washington University Vikings (5-4). 

The Sharks, entering the day at 0-7 following a tough west-coast road trip to start the season, returned home for the first time in 2023 and hosted a staunch pitching staff in the Western Washington Vikings.

Game One: 4-0, Western Washington University wins.  

HPU struggled to get the bats going in the first of two games, mustering just two hits and three total base runners against WWU ace Mareena Ramirez. The right-handed pitcher had the Sharks off-balance in the box all afternoon, showing why she had posted a sub-1.00 ERA so far this season. 

The Vikings capitalized on Sharks miscues, whether it be a lead-off walk or errors that resulted in extra outs for WWU, en route to all four of their runs in game one.  

WWU scored first, scoring a pair of runs in the second inning after Emily Paulson led things off with a walk and then Brooke Fesenbek followed with a single. HPU starting pitcher Taylor Thompson then recorded a pair of quick outs, but back-to-back singles followed by an Isabel Cargill hit by pitch brought both Paulson and Fesenbek across home plate. 

The score would hold at 2-0 until the top of the 4th inning, when a McKenna Crum lead-off walk and stolen base put the Vikings in business once again. Cargill then picked up her second RBI of the night, drilling a double to bring home Crum and increase the visitors’ lead to three. 

An HPU error in the top of the fifth quickly came back to bite the Sharks, as Paulson roped an RBI double to bring home Roosevelt-grad Kanilehua Pitoy for the game’s final run.

Tiari Hernandez had both hits in game one for the Sharks, including a 2-out single to keep the game going in the bottom of the seventh. Unfortunately for HPU, Kanoe Tanigawa would fly out to Pitoy for the final out of the first game.

Ramirez’s final line for WWU: W, 7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K, faced 23 total batters and recorded 21 outs. 

Thompson’s final line for HPU: L, 7.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K.

Game Two: 2-1, Hawai’i Pacific University wins.

First-year pitcher Hailey Yoshida got the ball in the second game of the day for HPU, her second career start for the Sharks. Yoshida worked quickly, attacking the strike zone, and forcing the Vikings to put the ball in play instead of allowing WWU to work ahead in the count.

The Sharks, with a boon from a positive start from Yoshida, saw the bats start to wake up in game two. Although a pair of first inning singles didn’t end up resulting in runs, HPU looked far more comfortable at the plate against WWU’s left-handed hurler Hanako Hirai. 

Though HPU seemed to have taken the momentum, Western Washington first-year shortstop Hailey Rath stole it back with one swing, taking Yoshida deep to left field for the Vikings’ first home run of the season and a 1-0 lead for WWU. 

Yoshida would settle back into form, quickly retiring the next four batters. Trouble looked to be brewing in the top of the 5th inning after a lead-off double by Crum was followed by a Taylor Khorrami walk, but Yoshida retired the next three Vikings batters to escape the jam unscathed.

Western Washington would threaten again with two outs in the top of the 6th following an Amaya Davis walk and Rachel Christensen single, though the threat was quickly extinguished with a Crum line-out to shortstop.

The HPU bats started out hot in game two of the day but fell into a similar lull to the day’s first contest in the middle innings. Faced with the final three outs of the day and trailing by a run, Sharks head coach Jarnett Lono begged her team to show patience and try to claw it out. 

Hoku Ching, the junior right fielder, led things off with her second single of the game before moving to second on a walk drawn by pinch-hitting first-year outfielder Kaylyn Dosch. Sophomore Neva Poulin then pinch-hit for Jenasis Guerrero, promptly singling to load the bases for HPU with no outs and the lineup flipping over. 

Hernandez drew a walk on the ensuing at-bat to force home the tying run and force the Vikings to make a pitching change to right-handed Alexis Slater.

Remembering the pleas of her coach at the start of the inning, first-year designated player Emily Wheat stepped to the plate with an opportunity to send the Sharks home with a split of the double-header and, more importantly, HPU’s first win of the 2023 season.

Wheat worked the count, not expanding the strike zone against the freshly inserted Slater. The first-year drew a walk-off walk, scoring Dosch and completing the comeback for the Sharks’ first win, 2-1.

Yoshida’s final line for HPU: W, 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K. 

Hirai’s final line for WWU: 6+ IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K. 

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