Dixie State University combined strong pitching and hitting to sweep a doubleheader from the University of Hawaii at Hilo, 6-1 and 6-3 on Sunday.
The Red Storm (24-11 overall, 18-2 Pacific West Conference) capped a four-game sweep against the Vulcans (10-21, 8-16) in St. George, Utah.
“Dixie State is a very good team,” UHH head coach Kallen Miyataki said. “Today, they had good pitching and good hitting to earn the sweep. But we’re still upbeat despite the losses and are ready to come home from this long road trip.”
In Game 1, the Red Storm plated three runs in the bottom of the second inning and never looked behind in beating the young Vulcans.
Yuto Kata (3 RBIs), Drew McLaughlin and Tyler Blair each had two hits to lead DSU’s 10-hit attack. No one paired hits for UHH, while lead-off batter Edison Sakata had a hit and the team’s lone RBI.
Kort Christofferson started and went the distance to pick up the win for the Red Storm. Christofferson (2-2) allowed five hits and one run while striking out three and not walking a batter.
UHH starter Jordyn Ah Chong (1-4) tossed 7 1/3 innings and took the loss. He gave up 10 hits and six runs, five earned. He also had four walks and no strikeouts. Reliever Sheldon Shishido hurled a scoreless 2/3 inning to close the contest.
In Game 2, DSU rallied from a 2-1 deficit by scoring a run in the fourth, two in the fifth and one in the sixth to pull away.
Trey Kamachi led the Red Storm with two hits. Will Thayer (home run, 2 RBIs) and Samuel King each had two hits for the Vulcans.
Kort Christofferson’s brother, Kody, started and pitched five innings for the hosts. Kody (4-1) allowed four hits and three runs to go along with a strikeout and no walks.
Seamus Yoneshige started for UHH and threw three innings. He gave up two hits and threes, and was hampered by six walks. Shishido took over in the four and hurled 1 2/3 innings. He was tagged with the defeat.
“We think we learned a lot on this road trip, and will take a lot of positives away from it,” said Miyataki, in his first season as the Vulcans’ head coach. “We feel we’re still moving in the right direction, and want to get better each game we play.”
The Vulcans play at Hawaii Pacific University, April 4-6, on Oahu.
Game 1
UHH 001 000 000 — 1 5 2
DSU 030 001 11x — 6 10 0
Game 2
UHH 020 010 0 — 3 4 2
DSU 110 121 x — 6 7 2
