That the UH-Hilo baseball team’s losing streak against Cal Baptist was extended to 13 games Friday wasn’t all that surprising.
But it’s not like the Vulcans didn’t go down without a fight – two of them.
A walk-off home run stunned the Vulcans in the first game, and in the nightcap the Lancers broke a tie in the sixth inning of a seven-inning contest to win twice by a run on their Senior Day, 9-8 and 2-1.
Dylan Spain (1-4) was the tough-luck loser in the second game, giving up only six hits in six innings. In the sixth, Bryce Macy doubled, Tommy Bell singled and John Glenn’s drove in the go-ahead run with a groundout.
Kyle Yamada was 2 for 2 with a double, giving him five hits during the doubleheader, with a run scored, and Austin Forney posted two hits in each game.
Spain didn’t walk a batter and struck out three.
The Vulcans (8-24, 8-22) carried a lead to the bottom of the ninth of the first game, but Glenn put the Lancers (31-15, 22-10) in the win column with a two-run home run off Deric Valoroso Jr. (2-2).
Jacob Grijalva hit a pair of two-run doubles for UHH, Yamada was 3 for 5 with two run scored, Phillip Steering finished 2 or 3 with three walks and three runs scored, and Forney and Jonathan Segovia each had RBI singles to stake the Vulcans to an 8-6 lead.
Cole Nakachi started for UHH and allowed six hits and three runs in three innings with two walks and two strikeouts.
The Vulcans take a seven-game losing streak into their final home series of the year, Tuesday-Wednesday against Dixie State at Wong Stadium.
Vuls surge, then stay alive
UH-Hilo won its eighth game in a row and then were just an out away from seeing the streak end when they rallied for three runs against BYU-Hawaii in the second game, which was stopped because of darkness on Oahu.
The 5-5 contest could be resumed Saturday before another scheduled doubleheader, but a determination hadn’t been made as of Friday night.
In an 11-1 win, Billi Derleth hit a grand slam, Bailey Gaspar clubbed two doubles and drove in three runs and Leah Gonzales (9-5) allowed only a run on seven hits in the five-inning TKO, walking one and striking out three.
Danielle Pulido, Mari Kawano and Derleth also had two hits apiece and Maria Steadmon hit an RBI double.
The Vulcans (22-19, 13-12) were trailing 5-2 and down to their last pitch in the second game, but Cristina Menjivar doubled, Cyanne Fernandez, on in relief, singled, Pulido and Kacie Freudenberger walked to make it 5-3, and Brinell Kaleikini hit a two-run double to tie the game – Freudenberger was thrown out at the plate on the play.
Both teams went down in order in their next two at-bats. The Seasiders (10-25, 7-16) doubled in the eighth, but Fernandez got out of the jam and the game was called.
Vuls eliminated
Defending national champion Hawaii Pacific ousted UHH 5-0 in the PacWest tennis semifinals in Surprise, Ariz.
Singles
#7 Filip Dolezel (HPU) vs. #29 Vaclav Slezak (UHH) 6-2, 3-2, unfinished
#10 Torben Otto (HPU) vs. Alex Fillat Perez (UHH) 6-3, 5-0, unfinished
Jakub Hadrava (HPU) vs. Gregory Zukeran (UHH) 6-2, 3-3, unfinished
Gerard A Rodriguez (HPU) def. Stefan Coney (UHH) 6-3, 6-4
Filip Soban (HPU) vs. Bruno Figlia (UHH) 7-6 (8-6), 1-2, unfinished
Juan Erro (HPU) def. Dillon Lam (UHH) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
#9 Filip Dolezel/Jakub Hadrava (HPU) def. Vaclav Slezak/Stefan Coney (UHH) 8-3
Torben Otto/Jack Lyttle (HPU) def. Bruno Figlia/Alex Fillat Perez (UHH) 8-3
Juan Erro/Filip Soban (HPU) def. Daniel Tada/Gregory Zukeran (UHH) 8-6
