It’s not unusual to win two games in different ways, and that’s what the University of Hawaii Hilo Vulcans did as the baseball team hosted and swept a twin bill against the Holy Names Hawks March 9, the school’s website reported.
The Vulcans relied on strong defense and a one-two combination on the hill to take the first game 5-1; in the second, they spread out their scoring but needed a four-run eighth to secure the 10-7 victory.
In Game 1, Conor Meehan opened the game with four scoreless innings as the Vulcans opened a 1-0 lead in the first and added another run in the fourth.
After getting one out in the fifth, he handed the ball to Ty Honda, who left two stranded runners to keep the shutout intact through five.
The Hawks got on the board in the sixth, making it a 2-1 game, but the Vulcans responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning and added one in the eighth for good measure. The big hit in the sixth came off the bat of Joseph Gallagher, who had a two-out, two run double to right, sending Brett Komatsu and Casey Yamauchi across the plate.
Game 2 was a back-and-forth affair, with the teams trading leads several times throughout the first seven innings. The Hawks (12-13 overall, 5-7 in the Pacific West) scored three runs in the top of the eighth to take a 7-6 lead, but the Vulcans took advantage of a pair of sacrifice flies and a hit batsman with the bases loaded to build a 10-7 lead. John Kea came to the mound in the ninth and shut down the Hawks to earn his fifth save of the season.
The sweep gave the Vulcans three victories in a row, a streak that grew to five after another doubleheader sweep of the Hawks Thursday. The team (17-6, 6-4) heads to Concordia for another double header Monday.