HPA grads Micah Ashburn, Jayse Bannister help Holy Names sweep Vulcans

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Hawaii Preparatory Academy graduates Micah Ashburn and Jayse Bannister delivered on the mound Tuesday for Holy Names, which swept the University of Hawaii at Hilo in a doubleheader in Oakland, Calif., to earn its first two Pacific West Conference baseball victories of the season.

Hawaii Preparatory Academy graduates Micah Ashburn and Jayse Bannister delivered on the mound Tuesday for Holy Names, which swept the University of Hawaii at Hilo in a doubleheader in Oakland, Calif., to earn its first two Pacific West Conference baseball victories of the season.

Ashburn tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings to outduel Jordan Kurokawa as the Hawks won the second game 3-0. In the opener, the Hawks jumped all over Jeremy Dela Cruz and pounded 21 hits in a 15-1 rout, making a winner of Bannister.

Kurokawa (2-3) was victimized by a pair of errors, allowing Holy Names to score twice in the third and once in the fifth. He allowed three unearned runs and five hits with a walk and seven strikeouts as the Vulcans (10-15, 7-9 PacWest) fell to 3-6 on their road trip.

Ashburn (4-2), a junior, came within two outs of a complete game. He walked six and allowed only three hits with two strikeouts.

Dela Cruz (3-2) couldn’t get out of the second inning as Holy Names (6-16, 2-13) scored six times.

Zach Verlaan blasted a three-run homer and had a double among his four hits for the Hawks. Bannister (1-1), a sophomore, worked seven innings and allowed a run on four hits and three walks with a strikeout.

The Vulcans finished with only eight hits on the day, three by catcher Sean Nearhoof.

First game

UH-Hilo 000 100 000 — 1 5 2

Holy Names 061 040 40x — 15 21 0

Second game

UH-Hilo 000 000 0 — 0 3 2

Holy Names 002 010 x — 3 5 0