HONOLULU — Hawaii Pacific coach Dane Fujinaka joked with his staff that it was a lose-lose situation.

When HPU Sharks all-time saves leader Ryan Inouye took the mound in the ninth inning for the University of Hawaii against his former team Wednesday, there were plenty of mixed emotions in the Les Murakami Stadium visitors’ dugout.

“It was like we either come back and make a push here, and our guy obviously has to wear it,” Fujinaka said. “Or he shuts it out like he did, and we lose.”

The 5-foot-9 Kailua High graduate with the unorthodox right-handed mechanics limited the Sharks to a single to record his first save in a Kelly green uniform, as UH beat its crosstown opponent 4-1.

[Note: See below for more photos of Hawaii-Hawaii Pacific baseball.]

Inouye, his face a neutral mask minutes later, resolved to keep his emotions the same way as he stepped on the turf.

“Gotta keep it the same even though I know a lot of the guys over there,” he said.

Afterward, he greeted old teammates and coaches and was warmly received.

Inouye posted 20 saves over the last three years with Division II HPU, including the program single-season record of 13 en route to second-team All-West Region honors in 2025. He learned last season that he had a year of eligibility restored from his time at Menlo at the front end of his college career. But by rule he also would not be able to apply it at the D-II level.

Once the season ended, Fujinaka reached out to UH pitching coach Keith Zuniga and head coach Rich Hill.

“I said, ‘Hey, is there any interest here? I think you guys like perfect fit. He lives five minutes away. He’s a different arm that a lot of your league hasn’t seen.’”

“It was an easy phone call, and he was out of Division II eligibility, so he wouldn’t have been able to come back to us anyway,” Fujinaka added. “I’m just really happy that that UH, Rich gave him a chance to continue playing.”

It was his seventh appearance for the Rainbow Warriors, but first since March 8 against Cal Poly.

Hill acknowledged it was “weird” to put Inouye in a situation to face his old friends. He was the last of seven pitchers to see work in the mid-week bullpen game.

“He went to war with those guys for a few years. But they understand,” Hill said. “And he loves his teammates and he loves his coaches on both sides. I don’t think that entered into it at all. He was just trying to execute pitches and get a save for his team.”

Four UH pitchers — Derek Valdez, Saul Soto, Jack Berg and Zac Tenn — took a combined no-hitter into the seventh, when the Sharks’ Owen Wessel singled to right off Tenn.

Shortstop Elijah Ickes threw Wessel out at home on Ethan Murakoshi’s fielder’s choice. Jayden Gabrillo scored on a wild pitch by Tsubasi Tomii to give the Sharks a momentary lead.

Ben Zeigler-Namoa started a four-run rally in the bottom of the frame with a single to right. Kody Watanabe tied the game with an infield single and catcher Jake Redding drew a bases-loaded walk for the go-ahead score.

After UH faced ex-‘Bows pitcher Rylen Bayne in the bottom of the eighth — Bayne got through old teammates Zeigler-Namoa, Ickes and Draven Nushida cleanly — it was Inouye’s turn to face old friends.

He got Blake Helsper to foul out with a nice sliding catch by third baseman Tate Shimao just in front of the UH dugout.

Noah Hata singled up the middle, but Inouye struck out Carter Jones on eight pitches and Gabrillo grounded out to first to end the game.

Inouye was teammates with all the batters he faced, save Helsper.

“Definitely wanted to get all of them out,” Inouye said. “But Noah got a hit, so he’s definitely gonna hold that one over me.”

UH (13-10, 3-6 Big West) now readies for Cal State Fullerton (11-13, 5-4) in a three-game series starting Friday.

Hill said he appreciated the closely played contest that tested his team’s nerve when the Sharks got on the board first late in the game. HPU hadn’t beaten UH since 1986.

“It felt like the game meant something,” Hill said. “It’s good for our guys to be in that situation heading into Cal State Fullerton. You can’t replicate that in practice.”

As for Fujinaka, it was encouraging to see some of his eight pitchers on the day work their way out of jams, a known trouble spot for his group.

His message to the players was, “Look, guys, like, we can play alongside anybody in the country, as long as we continue to throw strikes, play defense, do the fundamental stuff that we talked about all year.”

HPU (12-14, 10-10 PacWest), which beat Chaminade 11-7 on Tuesday, hosts Fresno Pacific in a four-game series at Hans L’Orange Park next Wednesday.

The Sharks have weathered a literal storm or two.

They had a four-game home series against Westmont washed out by the first of two Kona low storms to hit Oahu. HPU’s practice site at Keehi Lagoon was inundated by knee-deep water — something Fujinaka had never seen.

They will attempt to make three of the Westmont games up on the road, Fujinaka said, in a tough 11-games-in-12-days stretch in mid-April.

Hawaii third baseman Tate Shimao, sitting, made a sliding catch in foul territory near the UH dugout against Hawaii Pacific. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Former Hawaii pitcher Rylen Bayne threw a pitch for HPU against his old team. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Hawaii’s Jake Redding got caught in a rundown short of home plate as HPU catcher Brock Wirthgen stood in his way. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.

Police bodycam video played in court during the trial of a Hawaii doctor accused of trying to kill his wife a year ago showed the moments officers arrived on the scene. Gerhardt Konig has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of his wife. Warning: this video is disturbing.

Gov. Josh Green on Tuesday asked President Donald Trump to declare a major disaster to help Hawaii recover from the back-to-back Kona low storm systems, with the hope that the federal government will provide up to 90% in funding.

The first storm hit on March 10, followed by a second Kona low on Thursday that the governor’s office said brought “catastrophic flooding, landslides, infrastructure damage and emergency evacuations across multiple islands.”

“These storms have impacted every county in our state and stretched our emergency response capabilities,” Green said in a statement Tuesday. “This request is about getting our communities the support they need to recover quickly and safely.”

If approved, Trump’s declaration would trigger the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide support for residents in the form of housing assistance, disaster unemployment assistance, crisis counseling and legal services.

There would also be federal funding for debris removal, emergency protective measures and permanent repairs to roads, bridges, utilities and public facilities.

Green also hopes for federal assistance to strengthen infrastructure and reduce the risks of future disasters across the state.

The storms knocked down trees, and triggered mudslides and rockfalls that blocked highways, isolated communities and disrupted emergency access statewide.

The first storm caused more than $400 million in damage, followed by the second, which, combined, is expected to exceed more than $1 billion in damage.

Otake Camp in Waialua was hit especially hard, and the Hawaii National Guard continues to help with debris removal and clearance operations, along with National Guard recovery and emergency operations statewide, Green’s office said.

“The scale of damage we are seeing — from washed-out highways to overwhelmed water systems — makes clear that federal partnership is essential,” Green said in his statement. “We are doing everything we can at the state and county level, but this is exactly the type of event where FEMA support is critical.”

On the North Shore, water “buffaloes” have been deployed in Waialua, Haleiwa and at Sunset Elementary to provide drinkable water.

The state and city have also set up a mobile clinic at Haleiwa’s Ali‘i Beach Park, while Kaiser Permanente has also deployed a mobile clinic to Kula on Maui to help patients from Kula Hospital who had to evacuate because of storm damage.