It only took Azusa Pacific one big inning to show UH-Hilo who’s in first.
The No. 20-ranked Cougars battered the Vulcans for seven runs in the sixth inning Thursday, breaking open a one-run baseball game to win the opener of a four-game series in Azusa, Calif., 10-2.
The Cougars (17-9, 7-2 Pacific West Conference) got to UHH left-hander Kyle Alcorn for two home runs before the sixth, then three singles and a walk chased the sophomore before Brandyn Lee-Lehano came on and allowed a pair of two-run doubles.
Kyle Yamada led off the game with a double and scored on a groundout and Dylan Sugimoto had an RBI single in the second, but that was the extent of the offense for the Vuls (10-12, 8-7), who stranded 11 runners.
Yamada and RJ Romo had two hits apiece for UHH.
In five innings, Alcorn (2-3) yielded eight hits and seven runs with four walks and two strikeouts.
Azusa ace AJ Woodall (5-2) went six innings and struck out four.
After Friday’s game, the two squads will wrap up the series with a doubleheader Saturday.
The Vulcans softball team will be in Azusa on Friday after finally wrapping up its delayed series finale at Biola.
The Eagles finished what they started a day earlier in a game that was delayed by curfew, winning 6-2 to take three of four in the series.
Chloe Domingo provided the offense on the day with a two-runs singl as UHH (17-7, 12-4 PacWest) outhit Biola (11-9, 6-4) 6-5. The Eagles had each of the game’s four extra-base hits.
Isabelle Mejia was 2 for 2 for the Vuls and Valerie Alvarado (5-3) went the distance in defeat, yielding five hits and six runs, five earned, with two walks and two strikeouts.