Hawaii Pacific outfielder Kota Suzuki on Tuesday was named the PacWest baseball Newcomer of the Year and made the conference’s second team.

Suzuki, a junior from Nagoya, Japan, hit .361 with 31 runs scored and 31 RBIs for the Sharks this season. He drew 26 walks and struck out only seven times in 169 at-bats.

HPU teammate Nicholas Jio, a junior second baseman, and Hawaii Hilo senior shortstop Casey Yamauchi also made the second team.

Jio, of San Diego, batted .311 with 31 runs scored for HPU, while Yamauchi, a Waiakea graduate, hit .404 with six home runs and 50 runs scored and was 23-for-26 in stolen- base attempts.

HPU sophomore shortstop Tejean Smith and senior utility DJ Stephens, and Hawaii Hilo junior outfielder Alec Yamauchi made the all-conference second team.

Local college tennis players make grade

Hawaii men’s tennis player Axel Labrunie and Rainbow Wahine players Madison Kim and Satsuki Takamura were named College Sports Communicators Academic Division I All-West District.

Making CSC D-II All-West District for women’s tennis were Chaminade’s Sydney Danielson and Emily Ramirez Miranda, Hawaii Hilo’s Julia Barden and Casydee De Mattos, and Hawaii Pacific’s Elodie Busson.

Hawaii Hilo’s Joshua Liu and Luca Matheiowetz were honored for D-II men’s tennis.

To make the list, student-athletes must be a starter or significant contributor to their team, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher, and reach sophomore athletic and academic standing at the school.