Hawaii finishes its beatdown of Hawaii Pacific with a 10-0 victory
Mar. 8—It took a village for the Hawaii baseball team to raze Hawaii Pacific and complete a four-game sweep at Les Murakami Stadium.
Six UH pitchers combined on a six-hitter and every Rainbow Warrior in the lineup contributed to the 10-0 rout. The'Bows outscored the Sharks 46-6 in the series.
"We're just so happy to be back and just playing again, " UH right fielder Tyler Best said of navigating through the pandemic. "It's amazing. It's a blessing."
UH coach Mike Trapasso said the pitching plan was to go with a "staff " approach : Li 'i Pontes, a junior, would make his first start in two years, and up to five relievers would get work. Pontes allowed four hits in four innings.
Pontes escaped a two-out, bases-loaded dilemma when 5-foot-10 second baseman Stone Miyao soared to silence Micah Layosa's screaming line drive to end the first inning.
"Hey, he's athletic, " shortstop Kole Kaler said of Miyao. "He has to make that play."
Pontes exited after squeezing under Trapasso's 50-pitch goal. Pontes, who issued the'Bows' only walk, threw strikes on 36 of 49 pitches.
"I wanted those other guys to get out there, " Trapasso said. "It worked out, just like we were hoping, "
Jake Hymel struggled in a relief appearance against Arizona Sate a week earlier. This time, Hymel allowed a hit and struck out one in his lone inning. "Hymel was the one guy we really worked hard with over the week in his bullpen (session ) on Tuesday, just to get him some more rhythm and balance, and he was good, " Trapasso said.
Dalton Renne, Calvin Turchin, Connor Harrison and Tyler Dyball faced the minimum three batters while pitching an inning apiece.
"Dalton had a good inning, just getting his feet wet, " Trapasso said. "We're trying to get him to create a little more leverage with that 6-8 frame of his. He's a work in progress because he's a basketball player, and he's new to the mound. It's exciting because he'll also give you some deception (with his motion and angle ), and you saw some uncomfortable swings in his inning."
The six UH pitchers faced 32 batters, five above the minimum, with two of HPU's six hits negated by ensuing double plays.
The'Bows scored double-digit runs in each game of the series. On Sunday, they pounded out 14 hits—led by Kaler's 3-for-5 performance—and bundled their scoring with four runs in the third inning and six in the eighth.
Kaler, who had batted leadoff and second since joining the'Bows in August 2019, moved into the third hole—between sluggers Adam Fogel and Alex Baeza—this series. Kaler benefits from set-up hitters in front and Baez's power. "I'm definitely going to be excited to (bat third ) the rest of the year, " Kaler said.
Best's defense helped him break into the lineup two years ago. But it is his offense that has impressed this year. He has hit safely in each of the seven games, a streak that extends to 11 dating to last season. "I'm just grinding, " said Best, who credits working with coaches Mike Brown and Kila Ka 'aihue.
The'Bows' depth at catcher has spawned production at other spots. Opening in left field, Jared Qandt drew three walks, scored twice and covered wide ground.
"We could see JQ in center field some day, as well as catching, " Trapasso said. "He's that kind of athlete. He can really run."
Konnor Palmeira, who also is listed as a catcher, entered in the ninth as a defensive replacement at third. Palmeira secured the final out with a sprawling, over-the-shoulder catch.
"That was a heck of a catch, " Trapasso said. "It was a lot of fun to watch to end the game."
