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Harrison, Donahue part of nation’s No. 1 baseball team

Billy Hull
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SCOBEL WIGGINS / OREGON STATE

Former Punahou standout KJ Harrison is hitting .337 for Oregon State this year.

Oregon State junior KJ Harrison, a 2014 Punahou alumnus, hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning last Friday to give the Beavers the first of three straight wins over Arizona over the weekend.

Oregon State defeated the Wildcats, who reached the College World Series final last year, by scores of 5-4, 4-3 and 11-7 to earn the sweep and become the consensus No. 1 team in college baseball, earning the top spot in all five major national rankings.

Harrison, who plays first base and catcher and is the designated hitter at times for OSU, finished the three-game series 5-for-12 with two doubles, three runs scored and three RBIs.

He was named the Pac-12 player of the week on Tuesday to win the honor for the second time in his career.

Harrison has made the All-Pac-12 team each of his first two seasons with the Beavers and was the conference’s freshman of the year in 2015.

This season, he’s started every game for Oregon State (21-1) before resting for Tuesday’s 4-3 win over Saint Mary’s. He is hitting .337 (28-for-83) with seven doubles, two homers and 12 RBIs.

Also contributing for the Beavers again this season is junior Christian Donahue, a 2014 ‘Iolani graduate.

Donahue, who has played both infield and outfield in his career with the Beavers, started one of the three games this past weekend against the Wildcats and was 2-for-6 with two runs and an RBI.

For the season, Donahue, who has started 17 games and appeared in 18 total, is tied for the team lead with 15 RBIs, second on the team with 16 runs scored and is batting .273 with five doubles and a triple.

Oregon State heads to Stanford this week for a three-game series starting Friday.

BASEBALL

>> Gabe Gunter, King Kekaulike ’13: The Cal Lutheran senior outfielder went 6-for-13 with a double, two stolen bases, two runs scored and three RBIs in a three-game sweep of Pomona-Pitzer on Friday and Saturday.

>> Tanner Nishioka, ‘Iolani ’13: The Pomona-Pitzer senior second baseman hit .571 (8-for-14) with two doubles, two homers, six runs scored and two RBIs in three losses to Cal Lutheran.

>> Kaimana Souza-Paaluhi, Mililani ’16: The Kansas freshman started the last two games of the Samford series over the weekend and went 4-for-9 with an RBI in two losses.

>> Codie Paiva, Kamehameha ’15: The Loyola Marymount right-hander allowed one hit in three scoreless innings of relief and struck out two with no walks in a 5-3 loss to Brigham Young last Thursday.

>> Niko Takayesu, Punahou ’13: The Grinnell (Iowa) College senior shortstop doubled, drew three walks, stole a base and scored three times, including the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning of a 7-6 win over Middlebury College on Sunday.

>> Haloa Dudoit, Baldwin ’16: The Concordia Irvine freshman shortstop hit .400 (6-for-15) with a double, a triple, two walks, three stolen bases, two runs scored and seven RBIs in a four-game split against Fresno Pacific on Friday and Saturday.

MEN’S GOLF

>> Kyosuke Hara, Moanalua ’16: The Oregon State freshman shot an even-par 71 in his first round on Tuesday and finished in a tie for 29th place at 8-over 221 in the Oregon Duck Invitational in Eugene, Ore.

>> Shawn Lu, Moanalua ’16: The Oregon State freshman closed with a 3-over 75 on Tuesday to finish in a tie for 48th place at 12-over 225 in the Oregon Duck Invitational.

>> PJ Samiere, Punahou ’14: The San Diego State junior, who was paired on Tuesday with Lu, bounced back from an 80 to shoot his second 73 of the tournament and finish in a tie for 56th place at 13 over in the Oregon Duck Invitational.

WOMEN’S GOLF

>> Allisen Corpuz, Punahou ’16: The Southern California freshman won 2 and 1 against Brigham Young in the final of the San Diego State March Mayhem last Tuesday to help the Trojans win the match-play tournament.

>> Bianca Armanini, Baldwin ’12: The Chico State senior, who was named the Wildcats athlete of the week on March 20 after winning the InterWest Wildcat Invitational, carded a 1-under 71 on March 21 with four birdies, to match her lowest single-round score ever as a Wildcat and finish in a tie for fourth place at 8 over in the Cal State Monterey Bay Otter Invitational in Seaside, Calif. Armanini has three top-10 finishes this season.

SOFTBALL

>> Kamalani Dung, Kamehameha ’15: The Fresno State sophomore pitcher went 1-1 against Boise State to move to 14-7 this season. Dung threw a three-hit shutout with one walk and seven strikeouts in a 9-0 win on Friday and allowed one earned run on four hits in nine innings with no walks and five strikeouts in a 2-1 loss Sunday.

>> Haley Nakamura, Lahainaluna ’13: The New Mexico State senior third baseman finished 3-for-7 with a double, two runs, two RBIs and a walk in two losses to Arizona State on March 22.

>> Fahren Glackin, Kamehameha ’14: The New Mexico State first baseman went 3-for-5 with a walk and an RBI against the Sun Devils.

>> Jadelyn Yadao-Valdez, Mililani ’14: The UNLV third baseman went 2-for-5 with a run scored as the Rebels lost two of three to New Mexico over the weekend.

>> Jaci Young, Punahou ’13: The Puget Sound senior center fielder hit a grand slam in a 12-11 loss to Willamette (Ore.) in the opener of a three-game series on Saturday and finished 4-for-11 with two homers, a walk, four runs scored, six RBIs and a stolen base in three losses.

>> Amber Popovich, Punahou ’14: The Puget Sound right fielder was 4-for-11 with a walk, a stolen base and an RBI against the Bearcats.

>> Kristi Nagamine, Mid-Pacific ’13: The Puget Sound senior leftfielder went 3-for-9 with a double, a stolen base, two runs scored and two RBIs against Willamette (Ore.).

>> Jessica Shimoda, Punahou ’15: The Puget Sound sophomore was 2-for-6 with a run scored and an RBI against the Bearcats.

>> Kacie Oshiro, Mililani ’13: The East Carolina right fielder went 2-for-9 with a double and a run scored as the Pirates lost two of three to Memphis over the weekend.

>> Kalei Kaneshiro, Kamehameha ’16: The Southern Illinois-Edwardsville freshman third baseman blasted a two-run homer in a 7-1 victory over Kansas last Wednesday. Kaneshiro then went 3-for-6 in a doubleheader sweep of Tennessee State on Friday.

MEN’S TENNIS

>> McKenna Fujitani, Punahou ’16: The Trinity (Texas) freshman clinched the match with a three-set win at No. 5 singles to deliver a 5-4 victory over Gustavus Adolphus on Sunday.

>> Kawika Lam, Punahou ’15: The Washington sophomore won both of his matches at No. 2 doubles to help the Huskies defeat Hawaii 6-1 on Thursday and Fresno State by the same score on Saturday.

>> Rayden Murata, Kalani ’16: The Pacific (Ore.) freshman won at No. 3 doubles to help the Boxers defeat Virginia Wesleyan 9-0 on Monday.

>> Ford Nakagawa, Aiea ’16: The Pacific (Ore.) freshman teammed with Murata in the win at No. 3 doubles against Virginia Wesleyan.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

>> Ashley Ishimura, Punahou ’15: The Creighton sophomore picked up a win at No. 1 doubles in a 6-1 victory over South Dakota State on Friday and won in straight sets at No. 1 singles in a 4-3 loss to Colorado State on Saturday.

>> Diana Wong, Hilo ’16: The New Mexico freshman failed to drop a game in a straight-sets win at No. 3 singles to extend her team-best winning streak to five in a 5-2 victory over New Mexico State on Saturday.

>> Lani-Rae Green, Waimea ’14: The UC Davis junior won in straight sets at No. 2 singles in a 6-1 victory over Northern Colorado on Sunday.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

>> Wil Stanley, Punahou ’16: The Brigham Young freshman played all five sets and had a team-high 36 assists, five digs, an ace and a kill in a five-set win over previous No. 1 Long Beach State on Friday.

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Stats compiled by Billy Hull, Star-Advertiser. To submit an athlete for nomination, email: bhull@staradvertiser.com.

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