Matt Cooper got the University of Hawaii off to a stellar start in Big West play in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Matt Cooper got the University of Hawaii off to a stellar start in Big West play in Santa Barbara, Calif.
The senior right-hander pitched a complete game and struck out nine as the Rainbow Warriors downed No. 10 UC Santa Barbara 3-1.
Cooper (3-1) mowed down the league’s top-hitting team with five strikeouts in the first two innings. He allowed six hits and two walks in an 118-pitch effort, lowering his ERA to 1.26.
Designated hitter Marcus Doi returned from an absence and ignited UH (13-12, 1-0) with three hits. In the second he singled and scored on Adam Hurley’s hit as Hawaii took the lead, and Doi drove in a run in the third with a hit.
Kaeo Aliviado and Marc Flores connected for doubles in the fifth to give the Rainbow Warriors a 3-0 lead. UH compiled 14 hits in its third straight win. Stephen Ventimilia finished 3 for 5, Aliviado was 2 for 4 with two runs scored and Flores was 2 for 4 with an RBI.
Cooper’s complete game was his second this season and the third of his career.
Justin Jacome (4-1) worked 6 1/3 innings and suffered his first loss for the Gauchos (18-4, 0-1).
Golf
Ryan Kuroiwa carded a 6-under 66 at Turtle Bay Resort in Kahuku, Oahu, taking medallist honors an the UH men’s team recorded its first tournament victory since 2004.
Kuroiwa finished at 11-under, two shots ahead of teammate Nainoa Calip, a Kamehameha-Hawaii graduate who closed with a 65 and made a tournament-best 12 birdies in two rounds.
UH (20-under 556) was the only Division I team in the six-school field. BYU-Hawaii (587) was second.
Kuroiwa’s victory was the first for a UH golfer since T.J. Kua won on Kauai in 2011.
Softball
Jasmine Zamora and Kayla Wartner smacked home runs as the Rainbow Wahine beat UC Riverside 7-3 on the road in their Big West opener.
Loie Kesterson (9-5) went the distance for UH (16-14, 0-1) and struck out two. She allowed eight hits and three runs with walk.
Zamora finished 2 for 4 with two runs scored, and the second baseman started Hawaii’s three-run first inning with a solo shot to left field. Wartner’s solo shot to right center came in the fifth.
Alyssa Razo (10-8) went the distance in the loss for the Highlanders (19-15, 0-1).
Water polo
Danielle Warde and Jessy Cardey each scored two of their three goals in the second half as UC Irvine pushed past UH 9-5 in Honolulu.
Emily Carr tallied a hat trick for Hawaii (13-7, 1-1 Big West) in matchup of last season’s co-champions of the regular season.
The Anteaters (17-6, 1-0) scored eight goals in the second half, earning their second win against UH this season and seventh straight overall.