HONOLULU – The red-hot University of Hawaii baseball team will close out its home schedule this weekend with a three-game Big West Conference showdown against No. 21-ranked Cal State Fullerton at Les Murakami Stadium.
HONOLULU – The red-hot University of Hawaii baseball team will close out its home schedule this weekend with a three-game Big West Conference showdown against No. 21-ranked Cal State Fullerton at Les Murakami Stadium.
The series will start with a 6:35 p.m. game Friday, followed by an 8:05 p.m. game Saturday and Sunday’s 5:05 p.m. finale. OCSports channels 16 (SD) and 1016 will broadcast all the three games on live statewide TV, and ESPN 1420 AM (KHLO in Hilo, KKON in Kona) will carry each game live via radio.
Sunday’s game is designated as “Senior Night” and seniors Kaeo Aliviado, Jarrett Arakawa, Eric Gleese, Andrew Jones, Julian Jones, Steven Pollakov, Jordan Richartz and Stephen Ventimilia each will be honored afterward with a presentation of lei and a commemorative plaque during an official post-game ceremony.
The Rainbow Warriors are 21-26 overall and 12-9 in the Big West after completing a rare 6-0 road swing with three-game Big West series sweeps at Long Beach State and UC Riverside.
Cal State Fullerton (28-22, 13-5) is tied with UC Irvine for first place in the conference; UH is in fourth place. The Titans are coming off a 5-4 home loss to No. 2-ranked UCLA on Tuesday.
Cal State Fullerton learned of a tough break Wednesday when it was announced starting pitcher Justin Garza will miss the rest of the season with a torn ulnar collateral ligament. He pitched in last Saturday’s home game against UC Santa Barbara but came out of the game after feeling discomfort in his arm, according to the Titans’ official Web site.
Garza finishes the season at 4-3 with a 3.05 earned run average, to go along with 53 strikeouts in 65 innings pitched.
Hawaii’s back-to-back conference sweeps are the school’s first since 2006. The Rainbow Warriors got a surprise offensive boost from shortstop Jacob Sheldon-Collins, who began the Big West season with a .237 batting average but went 8 for 10 at UC Riverside and hit .619 on this past road swing to up his average to a team-leading .297.
Designated hitter Alex Sawelson is batting .286 with eight doubles, 20 runs batted in and 15 runs scored, and redshirt freshman catcher Chayce Ka‘aua – a Hilo High School graduate – is batting .333 in league games and .277 overall, with a team-leading nine doubles to go with 21 runs scored and 16 RBIs.
Freshman Jonathan Weeks has been productive at third base since taking over a few weeks ago, batting .348 on the last road trip with two runs and three RBIs, while playing errorless defense.
UH’s starting pitching remains solid, with No. 1 starter LJ Brewster at 6-4 with a 2.92 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 83 innings. Saturday starter Tyler Brashears is 8-4 after his fifth straight victory and sports a nifty 1.82 ERA, with 62 strikeouts against 17 walks. Sunday starter Jarrett Arakawa is 3-3, with a 3.74 ERA.
Sophomore closer Quintin Torres-Costa, a Waiakea graduate, extended his scoreless streak to 13 games and 21 innings, and he now has a team-high eight saves with 45 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched. As a reliever, Torres-Costa’s ERA is 0.83.
Jones and junior Kyle Von Ruden have contributed from the bullpen as well, posting league ERAs of 1.83 and 1.54, respectively. Jones provided valuable middle relief the past two series, and Von Ruden was the winning pitcher last Saturday after pitching the final five and one-third innings with three strikeouts and no runs allowed.
LI‘ILI‘I NAMED TO ALL-BIG WEST FIRST TEAM
UH senior first baseman Leisha Li‘ilii was named to the All-Big West first team, released by the conference on Wednesday.
Li‘ilii, a Castle High School graduate from Kane‘ohe, batted .325 with a team-high 11 home runs and 37 RBIs. She had 13 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games. In conference play, Li‘ilii batted .400 with a .662 slugging percentage, including five home runs and 15 RBIs.
She hit .588 (10 for 17) in her final six games. On UH’s career list, Li‘Iii finished No. 3 in home runs with 49, No. 3 in RBIs with 155, and No. 3 in walks with 108.
This is her third straight All-Big West first team honor.
Freshman pitcher Brittany Hitchcock, pitcher/first baseman Heather Morales and senior catcher/outfielder Kayla Wartner each was named to the All-Big West second team. Hitchcock also was named to the All-Freshman Team.
Junior outfielder Keiki Carlos earned Honorable Mention.
The Rainbow Wahine finished the season at 32-22 overall, 13-8 in the Big West (third place).
NGUYEN NAMED ITA SOUTHWEST REGION ‘PLAYER TO WATCH’
UH sophomore Cindy Nguyen was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Southwest Region “Player to Watch,” the first Rainbow Wahine player ever to receive such recognition.
The annual award is given to the 12 returning players who are expected to be among the top in their respective region next year.
Nguyen was named Big West Player of the Year last week and will compete in her second straight NCAA Tournament from May 20-25 at Waco, Texas. She is 15-3 this season in No. 1 singles matches, including a current streak of seven consecutive victories.
Nguyen defeated then-No. 21-ranked Ronit Yurovsky of Michigan in straight sets earlier this season and went unbeaten in Big West play.
GANOT SIGNS FIRST RECRUIT
UH men’s basketball coach Eran Ganot has signed his first recruit, junior college transfer Bryce Canda, to a National Letter of Intent.
Canda, listed at 6 feet 4 and 195 pounds, graduated from Grant High School in Portland, Ore., and will transfer from Central Wyoming College. At Central Wyoming, Canda averaged 19.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this past season and was named to the All-Region IX First Team.
In conference play, Canda averaged 20.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 48.9 percent from the field including 44.9 percent from 3-point range. As a freshman, he shot 46.1 percent from beyond the arc to rank No. 20 in the nation.
Canda was a first-team All-State selection in high school and helped Grant to a 22-6 record his senior year.
“We are very excited to have Bryce on board,” Ganot said in a school statement. “I have enjoyed watching his development over the years and his progress is a true testament to what hard work can do. Bryce comes from great programs and terrific coaching from high school, AAU and most recently at the junior college level. He is of great character, has a strong desire to be successful, and is a great fit.”
According to the statement, Canda was “heavily recruited” by schools from the Big 12, Big East and West Coast Conferences but chose Hawaii.
“Bryce has great versatility and size which will allow him to play both guard positions,” Ganot said. “His ability to shoot, defend, and rebound are all great assets moving forward. We are thrilled to have him in our program and looking forward to being part of his continued development.”