Fred Patacchia Jr. of O'ahu's North Shore advanced to the fourth round of the Quiksilver Pro men's surfing contest yesterday at Australia.

The third round was completed in 2- to 3-foot waves at Snapper Rocks, Coolangata, Australia.

Patacchia defeated Mililani's Kekoa Bacalso in the third round, 14.17-12.64. The O'ahu surfers are roommates in Australia.

"We were having fun with it," Patacchia said. "This is the first event of the year and there's a lot on the line, but we try not to take ourselves too seriously. Obviously, this is our job, but we're here to have fun and surf and please the fans. Even with a loss, I think Kekoa did that."

Patacchia was the only Hawai'i surfer to advance to the fourth round.

Bobby Martinez of California defeated Kaua'i's Andy Irons, 14.16-11.26. Irons, a three-time former world champion, is making a return to the ASP World Tour after taking a sabbatical last year.

Maui's Dusty Payne was eliminated by Australia's Joel Parkinson, 16.63-12.2.

The contest is the first of 10 events on the 2010 ASP World Tour.

SOFTBALL

HPU SPLITS

Ashley Valine spaced eight hits and Nicole Morrow singled in the tie-breaking run in the sixth as host Hawai'i Pacific rebounded from its first loss of the season with a 3-2 Pacific West Conference win over Grand Canyon yesterday.

In the first game, Amy Searcy pitched a five-hitter as GCU (14-2, 4-2) beat HPU (11-1, 3-1), 2-0.

BASEBALL

HILO SWEPT

John Stanko had three hits and two RBIs as Grand Canyon beat host Hawai'i-Hilo, 6-2, last night to complete a sweep of a Pacific West Conference doubleheader.

In the first game, Joey Jacobson singled in the tie-breaking run in the seventh as GCU (9-7, 6-2) beat UHH (5-11, 2-6), 6-5.