UH-Hilo student-athletes were more than just Vulcans over the weekend.
They were shark hunters.
From the Big Island to Oahu, the Vuls were the ones on the attack against Hawaii Pacific:
• On Sunday in Waipahu, Oahu, UHH baseball reached its highest point in recent memory, completing a four-game sweep against the Sharks with a 5-4 victory that was the Vuls’ eighth in a row – its longest streak in 27 years.
UHH (18-15) surrendered 17 runs in the series, a far cry from the 53 they gave up in losing three of four at Hawaii Pacific earlier in the season.
But coach Kallen Miyataki appears to be bringing home a much different team than he did in mid-February when the Vuls were 3-6.
For one, Brandyn Lee-Lehano has completely reshaped the middle innings of games and boosted the bullpen. The Kamehameha-Hawaii alum fired three more scoreless innings of relief Sunday, improving to 4-0, after taking over for Travis Burelson in his third appearances of the series – he earned two wins and a save – and 19th of the season.
Miyataki hinted that Kobie Russell was pressing at times earlier in the season, but back in his familiar stomping grounds of Hans L’Orange Park, the Waipahu grad has six hits in series, including a solo home run that extended his hitting streak to eight games.
The Vuls mustered just six hits – Jaryn Kanbara posted a two-run single – but they were opportunistic in scratching across the go-ahead run in the eighth, taking advantage of two hit batters and two Sharks errors.
John Kea struck out a batter in a perfect ninth for his seventh save.
Hawaii Pacific (19-19) has lost five in a row and UHH took the season series 7-6.
The Vuls win streak is the longest since the 1992 team won nine in a row.
Dylan Sugimoto and Kyle Yamada were two of the biggest performers during Saturday’s doubleheader sweep, which the Vuls pounded out 25 hits.
Sugimoto hit a tiebreaking three-run triple in the seventh inning of a 7-4 victory, and Yamada had three hits, including a double, three RBIs and three runs scored in the nightcap, a 13-4 victory. Sugimoto also has three hits.
That was the only game in which Lee-Lehano wasn’t called on to relieve. Christian Sadler (3-3) made use of the run support, striking out six in six innings, with a walk and surviving 11 hits. Devan Elson struck out two in a scoreless seventh.
With wins in the first two games of the series, the Vuls moved to 14-10 in conference play. They have nearly two weeks off before taking on Holy Names in their final home series.
• On Saturday at UHH softball field in a meeting of PacWest contenders, the Vuls rallied against HPU ace Jordan Curry for a 5-2 victory to complete a sweep of a doubleheader, overtaking the Sharks for second place in the PacWest.
Skylar Thomas keyed a four-run fifth inning with a two-run single, the Nos. 5-7 hitters – Makamae Kaleikini, Markie Okamoto and Rayla Jacobs-Kea – each had two hits and Valerie Alvarado (7-5) pitched a four-hitter.
Curry came into the contest with seven shutouts, but the Vuls (25-14, 18-8) final figured the right-hander out.
“It was really good to see the girls make adjustments and use the whole field,” coach Callen Perreira said. “We sprayed the ball around, which is something we have been working on this week.”
Much of the hitting came in the first game, a 8-0 win in which Isabelle Mejia returned to form with a five-hitter in the five-inning TKO.
Rayla Jacobs-Kea had two hits drove in two runs, Vevesi Liilii was 2 for 2 with three runs scored, Kaleikini drove in two with a double, Mejia added an RBI double and Chloe Domingo capped the scoring with a two-run single.
UHH hosts Holy Names (9-19, 8-10) in doubleheaders Friday and Saturday.• On Saturday in Honolulu, the Vulcans men’s tennis team, ranked 22nd nationally, got win from its top three singles players and UHH swept doubles to beat No. 3 Hawaii Pacific 4-2.UHH and HPU both head to the PacWest finals – April 18-20 in Surprise, Ariz. – at 10-3, while Azusa Pacific, which beat the Vuls but lost to the Sharks, is 19-1.“That was a satisfying win for us, obviously,” Vulcan interim coach Kallen Mizuguchi said. “After losing 4-3 to Azusa Pacific a few weeks ago, it was good to be in a similar situation and learn from it. We played really well under pressure.”
Singles
1. #12 Vaclav Slezak def. #19 Valentin Masse (HPU), 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2).
2. #17 Alessandro Giuliato (UHH) def. Ondrej Ctverak (HPU), 6-3, 7-5.
3. #42 Martin Soukal (UHH) def. Cheng-Chieh Wang (HPU), 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-3.
4. #66 Benjamine Loccisano (HPU) def. Chun En Wu (UHH), 6-4, 6-0.
5. # 29 Maxine Gayte (HPU) def. Arturo Dell`Eva (UHH) 6-3, 6-4.
6. Luca Checchia (UHH) vs. Lukas Bauer (HPU), 6-4, 1-2, UNF.
Doubles
1. Slezak/Soukal (UHH) def. #4 Gayte/Masse (HPU), 6-4.
2. Giuliato/En Wu (UHH) vs. Bauer/Wang (HPU), 4-5, UNF.
3. Checchia,/Alan Cincunegui (UHH) def. Loccisano/Ctverak (HPU), 6-4.
• Hawaii Pacific’s only success against UHH came in women’s tennis. The Vuls lost 4-0 Saturday, but two wins against Chaminade helped UHH advance to the PacWest tournament.
Sunday
UHH 6, Chaminade 1
Singles
Catrina Liner Chaminade def. Sandra Dafincescu (UHH), 1-6, 6-3, 10-3.
Carmelle Joyner (UHH) def. Elyssa Shirai Chaminade, 6-0, 6-0.
Anouk Van Hoek (UHH) def. Cai Yan Fang Chaminade, 6-0, 6-2.
Gabriela Aguilar Lawlor (UHH) def. Tomomi Kohno (UH), 6-1, 6-2.
Hina Nishida (UHH) def. Caitlin Tatemichi, Chaminade, 6-3, 6-0.
Irena Le (UHH) def. Angelica Almilla Chaminade, 6-0, 6-1.
Doubles
Colvee/Le (UHH) def. Liner/Kohno Chaminade, 6-1.
Joyner/Anouk Van Hoek (UHH) def. Shirai/Fang Chaminade, 6-2.
Dafincescu/Aguilar Lawlor (UHH) def. Tatemichi/Niki Nishiki Chaminade, 6-0.
Saturday
Hawaii Pacific 4, UHH 0
Singles
#14 Elodie Busson (HPU) vs. Marina Colvee (UHH), 6-4, 5-4, UNF.
Elisa Elhadj (HPU) def. Sandra Dafincescu (UHH), 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
Mihoki Miyahara (HPU) def. Anouk Van Houk (UHH), 6-2, 6-2.
Debora Echeverria (HPU) vs. Carmelle Joyner (UHH), 6-2, 4-3, UNF.
Sarah Ikioka (HPU) def. Gabriela Aguilar Lawlor (UHH), 6-0, 6-4.
Nicole Ballach (HPU) def. Hina Nishida (UHH), 3-0, UNF.
Doubles
Elhadj/Busson (HPU) def. Colvee/Le (UHH), 6-0.
Miyahara/Ikioka (HPU) vs. Joyner/Van Hoek (UHH), 3-3, UNF.
Heloise Le Normand/Echeverria (HPU) def. Dafincescu/Aguilar Lawlor (UHH), 6-1.
Friday
UHH 7, Chaminade 0
Singles
Marina Colvee (UHH) def. Catrina Liner Chaminade, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3,10-3.
Sandra Dafincescu (UHH) def. Salamasina Te`i Chaminade, 6-2, 7-6 (9-7).
Carmelle Joyner (UHH) def. Elyssa Shirai Chaminade, 6-2, 6-1.
Hina Nishida (UHH) def. Cai Yan Fang Chaminade, 6-1, 6-1.
Gabriela Aguilar Lawlor (UHH) def. Tomomi Kohno, Chaminade, 6-0, 6-0.
Irena Le (UHH) def. Caitlin Tatemichi Chaminade, 6-0, 6-0.
Singles order of finish: 5-4-3-6-2-1
Doubles
Colvee/Le (UHH) def. Liner/Te`i Chaminade, 6-3.
Joyner/Anouk Van Hoek (UHH) def. Shirai/Fang Chaminade, 6-4.
Dafincescu/Aguilar Lawlor (UHH) def. Kohno/Angelica Almilla Chaminade, 6-0.
