Hilo clinches Hawaii Pod title in PacWest baseball

The University of Hawaii Hilo baseball team defeated Hawaii Pacific 6-4 on Saturday in Honolulu, clinching the Hawaii Pod title and an automatic berth into the PacWest’s AQ Pod Series next week.

With the game tied at 3 entering the seventh inning, Chris Aubort lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to score Casey Yamauchi for the go-ahead run. Jaryn Kanabara added an insurance run later in the inning, racing home on a wild pitch.

Takashi Umino and John Kea combined to seal the victory. Umino struck out five in 2 2/3 innings to earn the win, and Kea shut down HPU in the ninth to earn the save.

The Vulcans will travel to Azusa for the PacWest’s AQ Pod Series. Hilo, Azusa Pacific and Academy of Art will play each other twice over three days, and the team with the best record will earn the PacWest’s automatic bid to the NCAA West Regional tournament.