The Hawaii Winter Baseball victory was the Sharks' second in a row, tying them with the CaneFires for the lead in the Outrigger at 5-4.
Also yesterday in Hilo, the host Stars split a doubleheader with Volcano Division rival Maui Stingrays at Francis Wong Stadium. Hilo won the opener, 1-0, while Maui came back for 3-2 win in the second game.
No games were scheduled for today. Play in the professional instructional league resumes tomorrow with Hilo against West Oahu at 6:30 p.m. at Hans L'Orange Park and Maui taking on Honolulu at 6:55 p.m. at Rainbow Stadium.
Yesterday, the Sharks had to rally three times before finally disposing of the CaneFires in the ninth. Pinch-hitter Takayuki Saitoh, on with a walk, scored from third on Jeremy Carr's single to left.
Carr gave Honolulu a 1-0 lead in the first when he scored on Mike Asche's double down the third baseline. West Oahu came back with three runs in the second, highlighted by Kevin Lidle's two-run double.
The Sharks picked up two unearned runs in the third to tie it, 3-3. An unearned run for both teams in the sixth knotted the score, setting up Carr's heroics.
Three Hilo pitchers combined to scatter eight hits while striking out eight Maui batters.
In the second game, league leading hitter Mark Kotsay drove in Keith Johnson with a triple and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Sanders to give the Stingrays a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Maui added what proved to be the winning run in the second when Shinya Miyamoto scored on an error.
The Stars closed to 3-2 with two runs in the bottom of the second. Antonio Fernandez came home on a wild pitch by Chris Fussell and Brent Butler was forced in on a bases-loaded walk to Terrence Long.
Hilo was limited to just two hits by a trio of Maui pitchers. Fussell struck out eight but walked four in giving up both of the Stars' runs. Jerrod Riggan took the loss after striking out eight but yielding all three of the Stingrays' scores.
Standings
Outrigger Division
W L Pct. GB West Oahu 5 4 .556 -- Honolulu 5 4 .556 --
W L Pct. GB Hilo 4 4 .500 -- Maui 3 5 .375 1Honolulu 5, West Oahu 4
Hilo 1, Maui 0 (1st)
Maui 3, Hilo 2 (2nd)
One out when winning run scored
West Oahu 030 001 000--4 7 3 Honolulu 102 001 001--5 7 2Sang Soo Kang, Ji Chol Park (5), Jason Berry (9) and Kevin Lidle; Jeff Martin, John Kelly (3), Toyokazu Ohba (6), Russell Jacobs (8) and Shunsuke Hara. W-Jacobs (2-0). L-Berry (0-1).Leading hitters-West Oahu: Manny Vazquez, 3-5, 2b; Joseph Gazarek, 2-5, 2 2bs; Lidle, 2b, 2 RBIs. Honolulu: Chad Hermansen, 2-4; Jeremy Carr, 2-5; Mike Asche, 2b; Brad Fullmer, 2b.
Maui 000 000 0--0 8 0 Hilo 010 000 x--1 3 0Kevin Pincavitch, Orin Kawahara (6) and Kyle Cooney; Yoshiya Takeuchi, Jim Baron (5), Myung Ju Cha (7). W-Takeuchi (1-0). L-Pincavitch (0-1). Sv-Cha (1).Leading hitter-Maui: Josh Booty, 2-2.
Maui 210 000 0--3 4 1 Hilo 020 000 0--2 2 1Chris Fussell, Mark Seaver (4), Matt Snyder (7) and Ben Petrick; Jerrod Riggan, Dan Murray (5), Sang Ilyun Kim (7). W-Seaver (1-0). L-Riggan (0-1).Leading hitters-Maui: Anthony Sanders, 2 RBIs; Shinya Miyamoto, 2b. Hilo: Antonio Fernandez, 2-3.
No games scheduled