Safea Villaruz-Mauai thought he got enough of it when he belted the ball to the opposite field, but he lost sight of it halfway down the line and started sprinting to first.
No need.
“I heard the dugout partying, and at that moment I looked up and I knew it was out,” Villaruz-Mauai said.
The former Waiakea standout might have imagined his first career home run with UH-Manoa came during more dramatic circumstances, but this more than sufficed. Villaruz-Mauai’s three-run shot Sunday put a bow on the Rainbow Warriors’ 13-0 victory against UH-Hilo to wrap up a three-game sweep at Les Murakami Stadium in Honolulu.
“It was such a surreal moment for me because growing up in Hilo and watching the ‘Bows play on TV always sparked excitement in me,” the freshman said in a text to the Tribune-Herald. “Now that I’m playing for the ’Bows, it’s such a dream come true for me and my family.”
UHH coach Kallen Miyataki said before the series the ’Bows were the perfect foe to open the season with “because they expose your weaknesses.” If he didn’t notice any dents in the first two games, he probably did in the third.
The Vulcans (0-3) hung tough Saturday during a doubleheader sweep, but UH (8-2) belted 17 hits in the finale, including Alex Baeza’s three-run shot in the sixth off of Jacob Liberta. An inning later, the left-handed hitting Villaruz-Mauai muscled one out to left off of Vulcans closer John Kea.
Entering as a defensive replacement at first base, Villaruz-Mauai has now appeared in eight games (four starts), and has delivered seven RBIs while batting 6 for 17 (.356) for a UH team that took care of business by going 7-0 against Division II foes.
“I love my coaches, I love my teammates,” Villaruz-Mauai said. “Our coaches really do an amazing job at creating a good positive environment for us to progress into the best players that we can be.”
The Vulcans managed just three hits off three Rainbow Warriors pitchers. Making his first start in more than a year, Logan Pouelsen (1-0) worked three innings, striking out two, and left-hander Austin Teixeira was impressive in five innings, yielding just a hit and a walk with three strikeouts.
“I thought Tex was outstanding today,” UH coach Mike Trapasso told a statewide TV audience on Spectrum Sports. “He didn’t throw a single straight pitch the entire day. Everything was moving.”
UHH lefthander Kyle Alcorn (0-1) was pulled in the third with his team trailing 2-0. UH tacked on a run in the fourth and four more in the fifth – Kale Koler hit an RBI triple as part of a 4-for-4 day – off of the Vulcans’ third pitcher, Jonathan Buhl. The junior transfer was making his team debut after losing a start because of Friday’s rainout.
Villaruz-Mauai wasn’t the only Big Island ‘Bow who hurt his hometown school. Jacob Igawa, a Vulcans transfer and Waiakea alum, started at designated hitter and went 2 for 5, and catcher Dallas Duarte (Kamehameha) was 2 for 2 and was hit by a pitch for the fifth time this season, scoring three runs.
After UH improved to 114-21 all-time against UHH, the teams can turn their attention to their conference schedules. The Vulcans are scheduled to host Hawaii Pacific in a pair of doubleheaders next weekend, while UH welcomes Long Beach State in a four-game series starting Friday.
After the game, Trapasso was asked about his platoon at second base between two freshmen. Aaron Ujimori started Sunday and played in his eighth game, while Waiakea alum Stone Miyao has played in four games.
“I think right now we’re trying to keep them both fresh and healthy,” he said. “I think (Ujimori) right now is doing some things that may put him a little bit ahead. Stone has a bigger upside. From a projection standpoint and another 15 pounds, Stone has a chance to be a guy that can play at the next level.
“Stone has to keep the ball out of the air a little bit. … He’s got to understand that in this ballpark that really doesn’t work a lot. He knows it and is working on it. They are both neck and neck and we are super comfortable with either one.”
Villaruz-Mauai, meanwhile, was thinking about and thanking all his friends, family and hometown coaches, including Kaha Wong, back on the Big Island, texting “Manuia le spring break. (That) means have a good spring break in Samoan.”
