By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
For Hawai‘i Pacific softball coach Howard Okita, Victory No. 400 was a wash -literally.
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| HPU's Howard Okita is the 22nd coach in NCAA Division II history to reach the 400-win mark. |
The Lady Sea Warriors delivered the win in convincing style yesterday, unleashing a torrent of hits in the first inning en route to a 22-1 thrashing of Elizabethtown (Pa.).
Then it was Okita’s turn.
"They got me with a big thing of ice water," Okita said. "I didn’t have any other clothes, so I was a little soggy for the second game."
That would be Victory No. 401, which HPU won in less brutal but similarly easy fashion, 8-0.
Okita’s collegiate record now stands at 401-144-2, spanning five years with Hawai‘i Loa and eight with HPU. He’s the 22nd coach in NCAA II history to reach the 400-win mark.
"It’s an honor," he said. "But I’ve been very fortunate to have a good coaching staff and good players."
Okita has been coaching baseball and softball at various levels continuously since 1963.
HPU (15-1 overall, 11-1 PacWest Conference) plays host to Brigham Young-Hawai‘i Thursday at 2 p.m.
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