Hawaii Beat
Star-Bulletin staff
|
Wahine lose two in softball
Two uncharacteristic collapses yesterday cost the 16th-ranked Hawaii softball team its winning streak as well as the Western Athletic Conference lead when it dropped a doubleheader at No. 24 Nevada 4-1 and 7-6.
Nevada (31-14, 9-2 WAC) moved into first place in the standings, a game ahead of Fresno State (42-8, 8-3) and 1 1/2 games ahead of Hawaii (31-13, 7-3). The Rainbow Wahine and Wolf Pack meet in a single game today.
The Wahine saw their seven-game winning streak end in the opener at Hixon Park. The Wolf Pack broke a 1-1 tie with an unearned run in the third and tacked on single runs in the fifth and sixth.
In the second game, Hawaii cruised to a 6-0 lead in the top of the fifth and led 6-2 going into the bottom of the seventh before things fell apart for the Wahine and All-America pitcher Kate Robinson. Nevada scored five unanswered runs, including three with two outs, using an error and six hits off Robinson (13-4) to rally for the sweep.
In the Game 2 loss, Robinson tied former UH great Stacey Porter for the school's all-time career home run record at 38.
Kneubuhl helps Matadors advance
Isaac Kneubuhl (Kamehameha '03) put down 12 kills and added nine digs to help Cal State Northridge defeat Stanford 30-26, 30-19, 30-28 in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's volleyball quarterfinal in Northridge, Calif.
The Matadors advance to play Brigham Young in a semifinal at Long Beach State on Thursday. The Cougars ended defending national champion UC Irvine's season 30-20, 30-22, 28-30, 30-28 in Provo, Utah. In the loss, UCI libero Brent Asuka (Iolani '05) had 11 digs.
In its season finale, Stanford got 10 kills from hitter Spencer McLachlin (Punahou '07), 22 assists from setter Kawika Shoji (Iolani '06) and three digs from libero Jordan Inafuku (Kamehameha '07).
In last night's other quarterfinal, Pepperdine upset host UCLA 30-27, 20-30, 30-21, 30-28. The Waves will face top-seeded Long Beach State in Thursday's other semifinal.
More medals for kayakers
Hawaii Canoe/Kayak Team members picked up four more medals yesterday as the U.S. Flatwater Sprint Olympic Team Trials continued in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Mid-Pacific's Ryan Dolan won his second gold of the event when winning the junior men's 1,000-meter K-1 by more than 4 seconds. BJ Campbell (Kamehameha) finished in 4:14.985, edged out for the bronze by San Diego's Ryan Stock (4:14.445).
In the senior men's 1,000-meter K-2 final, Brandon Woods (Mid-Pacific '02) teamed with Bartosz Wolski for the silver, missing out on gold and a berth on the U.S. World Cup team by a second. Dolan's older brother Patrick (Mid-Pacific '06) and Morgan House took the bronze.
In the senior men's 1,000 K-1 final, Patrick Dolan picked up a second bronze earlier in the day. He finished 9 seconds behind winner Rami Zur. Eric Abbott (Punahou '06) placed fifth.
In other 1,000 K-1 results: Katie Erwin (Le Jardin) was fifth in senior women; and Julia Anderson (Iolani) placed fourth in the junior women's A final and Rachel Fujita (Iolani) was second in the B final. Trenton Dos Santos-Tam (Punahou) was seventh in the junior men's B final.
Becker, Brown at QB Club meeting
Retired Honolulu Star-Bulletin columnist Jim Becker and Hawaii diving coach Mike Brown headline tomorrow's speakers program at the Honolulu Quarterback Club's weekly meeting at the Pagoda Hotel.
Becker, author of "Saints, Sinners & Shortstops," will discuss Jackie Robinson breaking the Major League Baseball color barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Brown has led the Warriors and the Rainbow Wahine to a combined 28 individual conference titles.
Wahine sophomore diver Emma Friesen, the NCAA Tri-Diver of the Year, will also receive her award as female sportsperson for March. She won the NCAA title in springboard.
Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. followed by the noon program.
Maui's Grove to fight in June
Kendall Grove, of Maui, returns to the Octagon June 21 when he takes on former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner on the Ultimate Fighter 7 finale show broadcast live on Spike TV from the Pearl at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas.
Grove (10-5) was the Season 3 winner of the reality show, but has lost his last two UFC fights after starting 3-0. Tanner (34-7) made his return to the ring after a two-year hiatus in March and was knocked out by Japanese sensation Yushin Okami.
Hawaii second in sailing championship
The Hawaii women's sailing team finished second at the Pacific Coast Sailing Conference Championship yesterday at Keehi Lagoon to qualify for next month's Intercollegiate Sailing Association Women's National Championship off Newport, R.I.
Also earning an automatic berth into the May 25-27 nationals was yesterday's regatta winner Stanford.
This will be the ninth national appearance for Hawaii in 11 years. Sailing for the Rainbow Wahine were Becky Mabardy (skipper), Darla Baldwin (crew) and Erin Magee (crew) in the A division, and Hannah Tuson-Turner (skipper) and Jackie McLoughlin in the B division.
Vulcans drop pair at Sac State
Hawaii-Hilo dropped both ends of a nonconference baseball doubleheader to Sacramento State yesterday at Hornet Field 6-5 and 11-1.
The first game was scheduled for seven innings while the second only went seven innings due to the 10-run rule.
In the opener, the Vulcans took a 5-4 lead in the top of the seventh, but the Vulcans (13-20) couldn't hold on as the Hornets rallied with two solo home runs, including a walk-off shot by Wes Oberlin with two outs and the count full.
In the nightcap, the Hornets (18-18) scored in all but one inning in winning easily. The lone Vulcans score came in the third on Keoni Manago's RBI single that brought Hilo to within 4-1.
Vulcans-Silverswords softball postponed
Yesterday's conference softball doubleheader in Hilo between Hawaii-Hilo and Chaminade was postponed due to weather and unsafe playing conditions.
The games had originally been scheduled for the UHH field beginning at 1 p.m. The doubleheader was then delayed until 6 p.m. and moved to Carvalho Field but the poor air quality postponed the contests until today.
Today's tripleheader is tentatively set for 9:30 a.m.