HPU Honors Top West Players
The presence of players from West Oahu on the Hawaii Pacific University baseball team was once again considerable this spring for the Sharks, with 10 of the program’s 38 players on the roster hailing from either Ewa Beach, Pearl City, Kapolei or Waipahu.
Two from the group — pitcher Rico Garcia and outfielder Jordan Oshiro — recently were named to PacWest Conference’s All-Star teams for their efforts this spring.
Garcia, a junior from Kapolei, was named to the PacWest’s First Team, while Oshiro, a senior from Pearl City, was chosen for the Second Team.
Garcia also was honored recently as HPU’s Male Athlete of the Year at the school’s annual end-of-the-year banquet at Ko‘olau Ballrooms, after having a huge impact again for the Sharks in 2015.
Garcia led the pitching staff in most categories. He finished the season leading the team with an earned run average of 2.18, good for second in the PacWest.
Garcia also rated among PacWest leaders in wins (6; seventh), strikeouts (84; fourth) and the opposing team’s batting average (.186; second). Garcia was selected as PacWest Pitcher of the Week twice this season. This is his second All-PacWest honor, after being selected to the PacWest’s Second Team in 2014.
For his part, Oshiro also figured big in his senior season for HPU, hitting .329 in the leadoff spot for the Sharks.
He also stole 19 bases in 21 attempts, which placed him first in the PacWest. He was also chosen as the team’s MVP and scored a teamhigh 46 runs, while recording eight assists in the outfield.
Fellow Pearl City High product Tyler Tokunaga also earned postseason honors recently when he made the District 8 Capital One Academic All-District Team. The junior shortstop had another stellar season for the Sharks at the plate, batting .320 in the No. 2 spot.
Tokunaga started all 47 games for HPU and finished second on the team with 36 runs scored.
He also drove in 23 runs. Tokunaga is one of few Sharks to draw more walks than strikeouts on the season.
Academically, he currently has a GPA of 3.33 and is majoring in accounting.
HPU finished 27-20 this spring, including a 17-15 mark in PacWest Conference games. The Sharks went 21-6 in games at their home field, Hans L’Orange Park in Waipahu.
The Sharks will feature several other standouts from West Oahu in 2015, including Tokunaga’s brother Tanner (Pearl City High), Reid Akau (Waipahu; Pearl City High), Jordan Mopas (Ewa Beach; Saint Louis School), William Leskovec (Kapolei; Kapolei High), Austin Inabata (Kapolei; Moanalua High), Tre’ Haliburton-Goeas (Kapolei; Saint Louis School) and Darion Domingo (Waianae High).
