Tribune-Herald
The Hawaii Stars put their bats to good use on Wednesday night, rallying for a bunch of runs in a pair of big innings and getting off to a fruitful start in the Pacific Association playoffs.
The Stars hammered the Bay Cal Lumberjacks (formerly the East Bay Lumberjacks) 10-1 in their second day of the league’s five-team postseason tournament at Wilson Park in Vallejo, Calif., securing a spot in the next best-of-three stage.
Hawaii plays the Vallejo Admirals at 4 p.m. today. Among the Stars, Lumberjacks and Admirals, the two top teams advance. If records are equal, the lowest seed Lumberjacks would be eliminated.
Mitch Levier batted 1 for 2 with three RBIs, belting a three-run homer in the first inning, and new Star Kellen Lee went 2 for 3 to power Hawaii’s nine-hit attack.
Dallas Mahan pitched five shutout innings for the win. He allowed four hits and two walks, and stuck out nine. Cortney Arruda followed with two scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Roberto Feliciano tossed a scoreless inning.
The only sour note was Reece Alnas giving up an earned run in the ninth, ending his scoreless innings streak. He allowed a run on two hits and a walk. For the season, he’s pitched 12 2/3 innings in 14 games and yielded one earned run for a 0.71 ERA.
Since the Stars left Hilo, they’ve significantly reshaped their roster. On Aug. 14, pitchers John Holley and Michael Kenui were released. Two days later, Tyler Provost and Brock Heerdt were signed. Two days after that, both were released. Also on Aug. 18, pitcher Matt Stropoli was traded to Na Koa Ikaika Maui for a player to be named later.
It was a busy day on Aug. 18. The Stars later signed outfielder Devonte Odums and released outfielder Reggie Taylor. The Stars also added catcher Lee and infielder Boon Maeda but they weren’t listed on the league’s transactions list.
In his first game for the Stars, Odums batted 1 for 3 and had an RBI, helping Hawaii score four runs in the first inning and five in the fifth.
Travis Keating took the loss in 4 2/3 innings, giving up nine runs. His defense hurt him, committing five errors which led to five unearned runs.