UH-Hilo sports wrap-up: Soto, Macias named KTA February superstars

KTA Superstars

UH-Hilo softball player Victoria Macias and baseball player Arthur Soto were named the KTA Super Stores Superstars of February, as announced Friday.

Victoria Macias got her collegiate career off to a terrific start, highlighted by late-game heroics in wins against Western Oregon and HPU. The freshman slammed a two-run walk-off home run against WOU and knocked a ninth-inning two-RBI double off the fence against HPU. Macias posted a team-leading .538 slugging percentage with 10 RBI.

Arthur Soto got the season off to a scorching-hot start through February, batting .344 with 11 RBI, 10 doubles and three home runs for a team-leading .641 slugging percentage. The Cal State Monterey Bay transfer provided clutch hitting during the Big Island Baseball Bash, getting a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 11th against Chaminade and tying the score in the bottom of the ninth with an RBI single against Saint Martin’s. Soto was later named Pacific West Conference Player of the Week and NCBWA West Region Player of the Week.

Softball

After 17 games through two weeks in California, the UH-Hilo Softball team is headed back home after wrapping up play at an invitational tournament with a narrow loss to Cal Poly Humboldt, 2-1, Sunday morning at Stanislaus State’s Warrior Softball Field in Turlock, Calif.

The Vulcans finished the weekend at 2-3 with victories over Chico State and Stanislaus State. A scheduled matchup with Sonoma State was ruled a no contest after inclement weather halted the game in the second inning and was not continued.

Victoria Macias was named to the Tournament of Champions All-Tournament Team after batting .400 (6 for 15) and racking up eight RBI with two doubles, a triple and two home runs (1.066 slugging). The freshman collected 31 putouts and one defensive assist at first base (1.000 fielding).

Madison Rabe made her eighth start in the pitching circle, scattering a season-high nine hits while posting a fourth-consecutive four-strikeout outing.

Cal Poly Humboldt broke a scoreless game with consecutive doubles in the third inning to plate a run.

UH-Hilo responded in the next frame on a two-out rally with a double from Lexie Tilton cashed in by a two-strike RBI single from Kanoe Piltz to even the score.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Lumberjacks managed back-to-back hits to bring the go-ahead score across.

Lumberjacks looked to do further damage in the sixth inning with a two-out rally. After consecutive hits, Alyssa Ramirez added another single to center field as the lead runner tried to stretch it out by rounding third and heading home, but Maya Lee Saneishi gunned her out at the plate to end the inning.

UH-Hilo moved to a 14-14 record (8-10 Pacific West Conference) while Cal Poly Humboldt moved to 15-14 (5-7 CCAA).

The Vulcans will return to the Big Island for their next home games set for March 29-30 against Academy of Art at the Vulcan Softball Field.

With the final month of competition coming up, UH-Hilo will look to keep the wins coming in hopes of booking a return trip to the mainland for the four-team PacWest Conference Championship postseason tournament set for May 1-3 in San Rafael, California at Dominican.

Baseball

The Vulcans were swept in a four-game series against Westmont — their second straight dropped series — losing by scores of 11-3, 10-1, 6-1 and 8-2 on Monday and Tuesday in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Vulcans batters struck out a combined 21 times in the first doubleheader, going down swinging on 17 of them.

The Warriors are new to the PacWest Conference this season and are in the second year of their three-year transition from the NAIA to the NCAA Division II. Westmont capped last season by claiming the NAIA National Championship.

The defending NAIA National Champs came out to play as Daniel Patterson started the bottom of game one’s first inning with a lead-off homer for the first of his two solo dingers in the game. Consecutive walks followed by a sacrifice fly and two base hits brought in three more runs for the Warriors.

The Warriors again got started early in the second game, rallying on two outs with a cluster of hits capped by a two-strike two-RBI triple by Tanner Beltowski. The freshman followed up with a lead-off homer in the third and a single in the fourth, falling a double short of the cycle.

UH-Hilo prevented the shutout in its final at-bat, getting a pinch-hit single from Kein Iwata followed by a double from Min, who finished the day with a pair of hits in each game of the doubleheader. Arthur Soto then drove in the lone Vulcans run of the same.

The Vulcans out-hit Westmont 8-6 in the third game, but only manages to score one run as Cody Min sinleg to bat in B Yoshida during the top of the sixth inning.

UH-Hilo’s two runs in the final game were batted in by V Oshiro’s single in the top of the third inning to tie the game.

Riding an eight-loss skid, UHH fell to 14-24 overall and 7-17 in PacWest play.

The Vulcans have finished their long stint in California, and will return to Hawaii for this weekend’s alumni game and a doubleheader against Chaminade next week on O‘ahu.