ISLE FILE
Four UH-Hilo baseball players suspended
Advertiser Staff
Four Hawai'i-Hilo baseball starters will serve suspensions ranging from one to three games for their participation in a fight in Saturday's game against Temple at Wong Stadium, UHH coach Joey Estrella confirmed.
Estrella declined to identify the players.
The game was called in the sixth inning, when the fight occurred. Although both teams had been disqualified, according to a UH-Hilo Web site account, Temple won the game, 7-0.
The suspensions go into effect starting with a five-game series against Western Illinois that starts tonight, weather permitting, Estrella said.
Two players were suspended for three games and two others for one game. All are position players. Estrella said the degree of sanctions was based on their involvement in the fracas. He said although the baseball program is an independent, the athletics department went through the Pacific West Conference commissioner Woody Hahn, whom Estrella said is an ex-baseball coach. (UHH competes in the conference in other sports.)
Estrella said the conference conferred with the umpires in the investigation. Estrella said he does not know if Temple had any players suspended, but said its situation is being conducted by the Atlantic 10 Conference, which the Owls are members.
"Everything happened so fast," Estrella recalled. "It was stopped within minutes. Both teams still ended up shaking hands. The whole series was an excellent series. It was just a misunderstanding at the spur of a moment.
"It's a situation where they have to learn from it. The four guys penalized, their character is beyond reproach. They're great kids. It's just an unfortunate thing. I'm pretty confident we'll learn from it. It won't happen again."
SOFTBALL
VULCANS WIN 1 OF 2
Charity Senas hit a grand slam in the second inning to help Hawai'i-Hilo to a 7-0 victory over Vanguard (Calif.) in the second game of a doubleheader at Honoka'a, Hawai'i, yesterday.
Vanguard won the first game, 1-0, in eight innings.
UH-Hilo is 7-9. Vanguard is 14-7.
WATER POLO
RAINBOW WAHINE WIN
Iefke Van Belkum and Megan O'Linn each scored three goals as No. 5 Hawai'i defeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 15-5, yesterday at Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.
The Rainbow Wahine are 8-6. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, a Division III school, is 3-6.
