The Hawaii Pacific baseball team saw their successful season dealt a blow on Wednesday, as they suffered a 5-0 loss to Concordia Irvine on the first day of the PacWest Conference championships. Despite this setback, the Sharks are still in the competition and are determined to fight their way back.
With the loss, HPU now faces a must-win situation for the rest of the tournament, which runs through Saturday. Coach Dane Fujinaka’s team, seeded second with a record of 30-21, will take on Point Loma in an elimination game at 8 a.m. Hawaii time on Friday at Azusa Pacific’s Cougar Baseball Complex. If they emerge victorious, they will have another chance to compete at 4 p.m. that same day.
Concordia Irvine, on the other hand, will face defending champion Azusa Pacific in the winners’ bracket. The winner of the HPU vs. Point Loma game will then go on to face the loser of the CUI vs. Azusa Pacific matchup.
Despite the tough loss, HPU had an impressive season, reaching the 30-win mark for the first time since 2016 and entering the tournament on a six-game winning streak. However, they were unable to overcome the strong pitching of Jake Covey from CUI, who threw a four-hit shutout with eight strikeouts.
Conor Hourigan took the loss for HPU, pitching six innings and allowing five runs. Despite some solid relief pitching from Makana Quia and Vicente Molina, the Sharks were unable to generate much offense in the game. CUI’s Michael Dixon had a standout performance with a 4-for-4 day at the plate, including a three-run homer by Wyatt Madison in the sixth inning that sealed the victory for Concordia Irvine.
CUI shuts out HPU in PacWest baseball championships
