By BILL O’REAR
By BILL O’REAR
Tribune-Herald sports editor
Blair Moore homered and drove in four runs to highlight an 18-hit attack as Cal Baptist University overpowered the University of Hawaii at Hilo 13-4 in the first game of a baseball doubleheader on Friday.
The Pacific West Conference twinbill was played in Riverside, Calif. In the second game, the Lancers defeated the Vulcans 8-2 in a seven-inning contest.
Moore, a third baseman, went 4 for 5 with four RBIs and he scored twice. Teammates Nathan Antoun (two-run homer) and Matt Daugherty (3 RBIs) each added three hits. Antonio Chavarria had two hits, including a homer, to go along with two RBIs.
“They’re a very good hitting team and jumped on us right away with a four spot in the first inning,” UHH coach Joey Estrella said. “But I’m pleased with our effort in the doubleheader. We faced some pretty good pitchers and hit the ball. We just couldn’t execute well enough when we had some scoring opportunities. And when you make mistakes against a quality team like Cal Baptist, they’ll take advantage of it.”
Leadoff batter John Abreu had a two-run triple for the Vulcans (7-27, 7-21 PacWest) in the opener. Teammates Tyler Nitahara (1 RBI) and Samuel Kim each had two hits. Second baseman Ryan Fukunaga added an RBI single and scored a run.
Lancers starter Michael Davis (2-1) pitched five innings and got the win. He scattered 10 hits and allowed four runs while striking out four without a walk.
UHH starter Bryce Shandro (0-3) went three innings and took the loss. He gave up eight hits and eight runs with one walk.
In Game 2, Cal Baptist (19-9, 12-2) broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the fourth with a run, then added another run in the fifth and four in the sixth to break away.
“It was a pretty good game, except for the sixth inning,” Estrella said. “We had some opportunities but just weren’t able to convert.”
The Lancers had three more home runs in the second game as Moore, Chavarria and Luke Esquerra went yard. Moore (1 RBI) and Daugherty each had two hits to lead the Lancers. Matt Marnati had a two-run double to add to Cal Baptist’s 10-hit attack.
Samuel Kim (solo homer) and Abreu had two hits apiece to lead UHH’s nine-hit attack.
Cal Baptist starter Adam Hofacket (2-3) hurled five innings and earned the win. He gave up eight hits and two runs while striking out three and not walking a batter. Vulcan starter Richie Mariano (0-1) pitched five innings, allowing nine hits and seven runs. He struck out four and walked one, and was tagged with the loss.
“We’ve got some injuries and that’s not helping us,” Estrella said. “We’re kind of working with a skeleton crew and we’re playing nine games in six days. That’s not an easy thing to do. But the guys are playing hard and I’m pleased with their effort. They’re going out and competing hard in every game.”
The Vulcans play Cal Baptist in a 9 a.m. doubleheader today to close the four-game series.
UHH returns to play Hawaii Pacific University on April 6-7 on Oahu before finishing their season against Academy of Art University on April 12-13 at Wong Stadium. The four-game series against will mark the end of Estrella’s 36-year coaching career for the Vulcans. He is retiring after this season.
Estrella started his long coaching tenure in 1976 and led the Vulcans while playing at the NAIA, NCAA Division I and II levels.
First game
UHH 001 300 000 — 4 11 1
CBU 402 214 00x — 13 18 0
Second game
UHH 001 100 0 — 2 9 1
CBU 110 114 x — 8 10 2
Golf
Men
University of Hawaii at Hilo’s Corey Kozuma fired a 75 on Friday and was tied for 33rd place after the second round of the NCAA Division I U.S. Intercollegiate.
The tournament is being played on the Stanford University golf course. The Vulcans are the only D-II team competing in the 18-team field.
UHH, under coach Earl Tamiya, carded a 293 total Friday after a 291 in the first round and were in last place at 24-over-par 584.
Heading into today’s final round, Stanford leads the talented field with a 17-under-par 543. TCU is second at 554, followed by St. Mary’s and San Francisco, both tied at 559.
Kozuma, a junior out of Iolani School on Oahu, opened the tournament with a 68 and was at 3-over-par 143. Also competing for UHH are Jamie Hall (71-73—144, T-49th); Dalen Yamauchi (75-73—148, T-71st), Chris Shimomura (77-72—149, T-77th) and Kyten Littel (77-79—156, T-94th).