Zach Kometani was searching for that one game to jump-start his collegiate baseball career.

On Monday, he found it playing against a number of familiar faces.

The University of San Diego sophomore catcher unleashed more than a year of frustration with two home runs against Hawaii. In just his fifth start over a 1 1/2 -year span, Kometani recorded his first two extra-base hits by going deep twice against his hometown team.

“;It was kind of cool to hit my first collegiate home run against Hawaii,”; Kometani said.

An all-state catcher at Punahou, Kometani won four state titles in four years as part of Punahou's current six-year run as the best baseball team in the state.

Kometani's collegiate career has gotten off to a slow start, but the sight of guys he grew up with playing in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu was enough to help him have a career day at the plate.

“;It was fun playing against a bunch of guys that I knew,”; he said. “;I told (Hawaii third baseman) Pi'ikea (Kitamura) that he better hit a homer because 'Iolani and Punahou did. Kamehameha didn't hit any.”;

Five players with local ties played in the game, including Kometani's teammate, Kalei Hanawahine, a freshman from Kamehameha. UH senior Christian Johnson, an 'Iolani graduate, hit a grand slam before Kometani answered with two bombs, the second off of Rainbows closer Lenny Linsky, who hadn't given up a run in his 11 previous appearances.

“;I didn't know about that until I read it in the newspaper the next day,”; said Kometani, who admitted to routinely checking the papers for ILH scores.

Punahou's 2008 baseball senior class is arguably one of Hawaii's best groups ever to graduate from one team. In addition to Kometani, Jeeter Ishida plays at Arizona State, Josh Bninski plays at Santa Clara, Paul Snieder is hitting .385 at Northwestern, and Reid Okita is a pitcher at New Jersey Institute of Technology.

“;It's pretty amazing,”; Kometani said. “;We had a lot of good guys on that team.”;

Kometani was heavily recruited and says he had scholarship offers from Kansas and Hawaii. Originally, he planned on walking on at Arizona State with Ishida, but a last-minute switch resulted in him committing to coach Rich Hill at San Diego.

“;(San Diego) came out to play a series at Hawaii and coach Hill stopped by a couple of our games and watched me play and told me to come visit,”; Kometani said. “;I really liked it and I had scholarship offers at other places, but my dad told me to go where I was most comfortable and I really liked it here.

“;Kansas was too far away and I wanted to get off the island and play at a competitive school that would have a chance to play in the College World Series.”;

The Toreros have won four West Coast Conference titles in the past seven years and recorded 44 wins in 2008, when they advanced to the Long Beach Regional championship.

“;That's our goal,”; Kometani said. “;To get back to winning the conference and eventually making it all the way to Omaha.”;

Masoli practices with Ducks

Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli took part in the opening day of spring practice at Oregon even though he won't play a down for the Ducks this fall after his season-long suspension.

Masoli, a 2006 Saint Louis School graduate, pleaded guilty March 12 to a misdemeanor burglary charge involving a theft at a campus fraternity house in late January. He was suspended by coach Chip Kelly within hours of his court appearance.

Masoli, touted as a possible Heisman candidate in his senior season, is allowed to practice with the team during the suspension and could request a redshirt.

There has been speculation that Masoli will transfer. But he was present Tuesday when the Ducks opened spring workouts—with Nate Costa taking the initial snaps at quarterback.

During the morning workout, Masoli appeared at quarterback and slot receiver.

“;He's just going to practice with us, but he's really not going to take a lot of reps at quarterback 'cause he's not going to play quarterback for us next year,”; Kelly said. “; He's going to help out wherever he can help out.

“;Need somebody to hold the (tackling) dummy, need somebody to run the practice, need somebody to do different things—he understands his role on the team.”;

Notables

Womens Golf
» Portland State freshman Britney Yada (Waiakea '09) tied for sixth place in the 2010 Anteater Invitational in Dove Canyon, Calif., that ended Tuesday. Yada had a three-day total of 10-over 223, nine shots behind the winner. Santa Clara junior Miki Ueoka (Kauai '07) tied for 14th at 227; Santa Clara sophomore Tammy Surtees (Hawaii Prep '08) tied for 24th at 232; Cal State Northridge junior Ashlee Nagamine (La Pietra '07) finished at 26-over 239; Oregon State sophomore Elyse Okada (Maui '08) tied for 61st at 244; and Santa Clara senior Jamie Nonaka (Punahou '06) tied for 76th at 256.
» UCLA sophomore Stephanie Kono (Punahou '08) shot a final-round 78 to finish in third place at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational on Sunday. Kono was 2 under for the tournament before her final round left her with a three-day total of 4-over 220. Tulsa freshman Kristina Merkle (Moanalua '09) carded a 75 in the final round to finish at 233, good for 39th place. New Mexico senior Britney Choy (Leilehua '06) finished a shot behind Merkle in 43rd place.
» Colorado senior Christine Kim (Waiakea '06) shot rounds of 74, 78 and 76 to finish in a tie for 34th place at 12-over 228 in the MountainView Collegiate Invitational on Saturday. Boise State senior Iris Ocariza (Moanalua '06) struggled with a final-round 83 to finish in a tie for 70th place at 19-over 235.
» Claremont-Mudd-Scripps sophomore Brittany Isobe (Punahou '08) finished in sixth place at the Lady Bulldog Classic on Sunday in Beaumont, Calif.

Baseball
» Northwestern sophomore Paul Snieder (Punahou '08) doubled and scored two runs and pitched four shutout innings of relief to earn his second save in a 9-7 win over Stetson on Saturday. Snieder was 5-for-19 with two runs and two RBIs in the four-game series and is now hitting a team-leading .385.
» Colorado School of Mines junior Nick Wong (Roosevelt '07) finished 5-for-17 with two doubles and five runs scored in a four-game series against Colorado Christian over the weekend.

Softball
» Purdue senior Liane Horiuchi (Kamehameha '05) was 2-for-6 with a double, three runs scored and two stolen bases in a doubleheader sweep of IUPUI yesterday.
» Pacific (Ore.) second baseman Kelly Nishitomi (Castle '06) had two hits, scored twice and stole a base in a doubleheader sweep of Puget Sound on Saturday.

Men's Volleyball
» Six-foot-8 Brigham Young sophomore middle blocker Futi Tavana (Kauai '05) set a school record with 15 total blocks in a four-set victory over UC Santa Barbara on Saturday. Tavana's effort helped BYU also set a program record with 24.5 total team blocks. Tavana chipped in five kills with a .364 hitting percentage and is now second on the team in total blocks with 97 this season.