UH-Hilo senior Ric Yamamoto likely won’t win the PacWest golf championship, but he’s making a hard charge until the very end.
The 2011 Hilo graduate shot a 2-under-par 70 in the second round Tuesday at Wigwam Golf Course in Arizona, moving into 13th place after 36 holes.
Yamamoto’s 79-70—149 total is 11 shots back of front-runner and BYUH’s Brent Grant’s 69-69—138 total.
Other Vuls are Jared Kinoshita, tied for 18th, 76-76—152; David Tottori, T24, 74-79—153; Kyeton Littel, T26, 77-77—154; and Conor Morley, T43rd, 79-81—160.
It is the first time Yamamoto is playing in the PacWest championship.
Kinoshita is a freshman from Bakersfield, Calif., and Morley is a freshman from Palm Desert, Calif.
Tottori is a sophomore from Las Vegas and played in the PacWest championship last year.
Littel, a senior from Maui, has played in the PacWest championship every year. His best finish was fifth as a sophomore in 2014. He was tied for 23rd last season.
Dixie State has the team lead with a 578 total while the Vuls are fifth with a 606 total in the 10-team field.
The final round will be played on Wednesday.
Sawada shoots 71
UHH senior Kristen Sawada, from Mililani, Oahu, shot a 1-under 71 in the second round at the PacWest championships on Tuesday on the same course in Litchfield Park, Ariz.
Sawada’s two-round 12-over 156 total places her in eighth and eight strokes behind leader and Point Loma Nazarene’s Michelle Picca (72-76—148).
Even better for Sawada, her score, at the moment, bumps her into contention for all-conference recognition.
Other Vuls are Alison Tengan, T18, 81-86—167; and Kimberly Katayama, 37th, 97-93—190
Cal Baptist leads with a 608 total while the Vuls have just three players (four golfers are required) and don’t qualify for the team title.
The final round will be played on Wednesday.
Baseball
The Vuls beat Holy Names 7-4 in Game 1 to end a 12-game skid but lost the second game 9-1 in Oakland, Calif.
UHH (5-28, 4-24 PacWest) is assured of its 24th consecutive losing season, a collegiate record that covers NCAA Division I and II and NAIA.
Jordan Kumasaka, a senior Vul right-hander, tossed a seven-hitter in the 7-4 victory. Jacob Grijalva had three hits while Kyle Yamada, Phillip Steering and Sean Nearhoff paired hits.
In the second game, Hawks senior left-hander Jayse Bannister, a 2012 Hawaii Prep graduate, fired a five-hitter in the 9-1 win. He allowed a run, a walk, and whiffed seven in the seven-inning complete game.
Erica Vega gave up five runs in four innings in the loss. Cole Nakachi was the most effective pitcher with one inning of scoreless relief with one strikeout. Thomas Warren followed and was tagged for four runs in one inning.
No one paired hits for the Vuls, who play Academy of Art in a six-game series starting Friday in San Francisco.
