Brandyn Lee-Lehano has turned into UH-Hilo’s workhorse relief pitcher, throwing another three-inning stint in a sweep against Academy of Art, which also featured the return of the team’s ace, boosting the staff’s depth.
In three games, Lee-Lehano finished the series with nine innings, allowed two runs, nine hits and one walk and struck out eight. The 6-foot-5 junior right-hander also picked up a save in Saturday’s 9-5 first game win.
In the second game of a doubleheader, the Vulcans defeated the Urban Knights 2-0 behind Dylan Spain’s efficient four-hitter.
It’s the first sweep of the season for UHH (14-15, 12-10 PacWest)), which plays a four-game series against Hawaii Pacific on Oahu, starting Friday.
The Vuls have relied on a similar blueprint in their wins. Travis Burleson was another starter to go at least five innings, a lead was left in the safe hands of the bullpen, and there was enough timely hitting in the 9-5 victory.
Jaryn Kanbara drove in two runs while RJ Romo, Kobie Russell, Kamalu Neal, Mana Manago each had two hits.
Burleson went 5 1/3 innings in the win and gave up five runs on nine hits and three walks. Devan Elson recorded two outs, and then Lee-Lehano shut the door for his second save.
“I feel great,” Lee-Lehano said. “I always feel good when we win. Thursday and tonight (Saturday) I had everything working. Friday night, I didn’t have my ‘A’ game but I had to bear down and whatever happens, happens.
“It’s been a team effort. Everybody is picking everybody up. I couldn’t do it without my defense. I want to get outs and let the guys come back in and hit again.”
UHH coach Kallen Miyataki noted that Lee-Lehano’s develop has mirrored the upswing of the Vulcans, who are fourth in the PacWest, behind front-runner Azusa Pacific, Point Loma, and Concordia.
“He’s developed slowly, but he can pitch better. It’s knowing how to pitch, and he’s applied that and the results have been positive. That’s what our program is about,” Miyataki said. “I’m happy we’re doing that. We’ve got a lot of local kids going. We’ve stepped up from when we started. We’re on a good ride so far.”
In the 2-0 second game, AAU started ace Mason Verhees, who pitches from the stretch, on short rest. He was the loser in the first game of the series. He went one inning and surrendered five runs in an 8-6 loss.
The Vulcans had no problem figuring him out early and scored against Verhees, who came into the series with a 3-0 record and 1.96 ERA, in the second inning.
In the second, Mana Manago stroked a single to right, stole second and scored when Rustin Ho reached on an infield throwing error. To his credit, Ho hustled down the line, which rushed Daniel Curiel’s throw.
AAU’s defense cost Verhees another run in the third when RJ Romo singled and raced home when Russell singled and an error scored Romo.
In the fourth, Spain pitched out of a two on, no out situation. Manago snagged a high hopper, touched second and threw to first for a double play. Spain got a groundout to escape the inning.
It was smooth sailing from there for Spain, who finished with 73 pitches, no walks and eight strikeouts. His last start was in late February, a win against Biola.
“I’m very pleased with his rehab. The trainer, Kensei Gibbs, did a wonderful job,” Miyataki said. “Everything has been structured. He’s back and I’m pleased with his progress.”
Spain had a simple game plan: throw strikes and pound the strike zone.
“I felt pretty good. I threw a lot of strikes,” he said. “I wanted to fill it up and see what they could do. They started to swing at a lot of first pitches. I had to change it up and throw off-speed stuff on my first pitches.”
Now, with the health of the Vulcans at near full capacity (second baseman Casey Yamauchi is still out with a hand injury, suffered in the road trip against Azusa Pacific), Spain can sense that the team is just on a good ride.
“We’re playing really good baseball,” he said. “We’re starting to come together. That’s the biggest thing. We’re playing with each other.”