Star-Bulletin file photo
Les Murakami has coached many great players during
his career at the University of Hawaii, but perhaps none
captured the public's fascination like
pitcher Derek Tatsuno.
Milestone victories in the coaching career of Les Murakami. Overall career record and winning percentage in parentheses.
No. 1: (1-4-0, .200), March 27, 1972, UH 6, BYU 5. Rich Maltby's RBI single scores pinch-runner Chester Murata in the bottom of the ninth with the game-winning run. Steve Shinohara is the winning pitcher.
No. 2: (2-12-0, .143), March 30, 1973. UH 13, Massachusetts 11. Hawaii wins its first mainland game, rallying from a 9-2, fifth-inning deficit. Myles Yamamoto has three hits and three RBIs. His RBI single ties the score at 11 in the ninth. Later in the inning, he steals home for the 13th run. Jim Dettore and Rich Maltby hit home runs and Rich Hazel gets the win.
No. 25: (25-33-0, .431), April 22, 1975, UH 3, Pacific 2 (10 innings). The Rainbows win the first game of a doubleheader to run their winning streak to 11. Greg Bickell's two-run single ties the score in the ninth. Paul Mize singles to deep short in the 10th and scores the winning run on Tom Bhagwat's wind-blown triple to deep right. Left-hander Riley Mende, with 4-1/3 innings of two-hit relief, is the winner. He also wins the second game in relief.
No. 50: (50-48-0, .510), April 2, 1976, UH 5, Spring Arbor (Mich.) College 0. Gerald Ako strikes out 16, including 10 in a row when he fans the side in the sixth, seventh and eighth and gets the leadoff hitter in the ninth as the 'Bows split a doubleheader.
No. 75: (75-54-0, .581), March 11, 1977. UH 9, Gonzaga 4. Hawaii overcomes a 4-0 deficit with a six-run sixth inning on no hits. Right-hander Gerald Ako pitches a complete game to win his fourth against no losses as UH sweeps the series-opening twin bill.
No. 100: (100-61-0, .621), April 29, 1977. UH 9, Nevada-Las Vegas 3. Rich Olsen tosses a seven-hitter as UH ends a two-game losing streak in its first visit to Las Vegas. Mike Kelly belts a three-run homer and Dean Hall hits a two-run shot.
No. 125: (125-73-0, .631), April 10, 1978. UH 9, California 1. Freshman Thad Reece is 3-for-3 and Curt Watanabe, Vern Ramie and Derek Tatsuno each have two hits as the Rainbow break out of a prolonged batting slump. Scott Olshane, with relief help from Gene Smith, is the winner.
No. 150: (150-77-1, .660), February 8, 1979. UH 2, Oregon State 1. Left-hander Mark Olmos pitches a three-hitter and fans 13. Vern Ramie's sacrifice fly scores Thad Reece with the winning run in sixth.
No. 175: (175-79-1, .688), March 8, 1979. UH 5, North Carolina 0. Derek Tatsuno fans 11 and Vern Ramie and Curt Watanabe pair hits. Watanabe singles home Rick Bass in the first inning -- the only run Tatsuno needs.
Star-Bulletin file photo
Murakami had the disco look in 1981.
No. 200: (200-80-1, .714), April 10, 1979. UH 7, St. Mary's 6. The 'Bows hang on to win their 20th consecutive game as Gene Smith saves the win for Jerry Stovall. Thad Reece goes 3-for-4 with three RBIs. In the ninth, the tying run for the Gaels is disallowed when the umps rule a shot to center bounced over the wall, off the scoreboard and back onto the field for a ground-rule double.
No. 225: (225-94-1, .705), February 29, 1980. UH 3, Oklahoma 2. Chuck Crim fires a seven-hitter at the Sooners and Howard Dashefsky's two-run double in the sixth inning provides the winning runs.
No. 250: (250-103-1, .708), April 18, 1980. UH 11, San Diego State 4. Eric Tokunaga knocks in three runs with two hits. Howard Dashefsky has two RBIs and Rick Bass goes 3-for-3. Bryan Duquette wins his seventh.
No. 261: (261-108-1, .707), May 8, 1980. UH 11, New Mexico 10. The Rainbows trail, 10-1, in the fourth inning, but rally to edge the Lobos on Greg Oniate's two-out, two-run single on a 3-2 pitch that scores Rick Bass and Wade Mauricio in the bottom of the ninth. Les Kakazu has three hits and three RBIs. The victory gives UH its first Western Athletic Conference Southern Division title.
No. 269: (269-108-1, .713), May 25, 1980. UH 7, Texas 3. Thad Reece's two-run homer ignites a six-run, sixth inning and his RBI single closes it as the Rainbows upset the host Longhorns in the NCAA Central Regional to earn their only trip to the College World Series. Bryan Duquette gets the win and Alan Lane finishes the game with 2-1/3 innings of hitless relief.
No. 275: (275-114-1, .706), February 6, 1981. UH 12, Hawaii-Hilo 4. Thad Reece has four hits and three RBIs in the second game of a doubleheader at Hilo. Rob Amble collects three hits and Chuck Crim records his first victory after a season-opening loss that ended his 15-game winning streak.
No. 300: (300-115-1, .722), March 27, 1981. UH 10, Cal State Northridge 7. David Smith wins his sixth with 2-2/3 innings of hitless relief as the 'Bows capture the Easter Tournament title with an 8-0 mark. Howard Dashefsky hits a grand slam in the first. a sacrifice fly by Greg Vasquez scores Jay Erdhal with the winning run in the seventh.
No. 325: (325-126-1, .720), February 6, 1982. UH 7, Hawaii-Hilo 1. Ross Hayashi allows three hits in six innings of work to gain the win. Peter Ho goes 3-for-4. Greg Vasquez has two RBIs as the 'Bows win the opener of a doubleheader at Hilo.
No. 350: (350-134-1, .723), April 4, 1982. UH 9, Pacific Lutheran 2. Dan Penner pitches two-hit ball for seven innings in the second game of a doubleheader. Lance Belen, Larry O'Connor and Howard Dashefsky have a pair of hits.
No. 375: (375-141-1, .726), May 14, 1982. UH 5, Nevada-Las Vegas 0. Bruce Walton allows two hits over six innings, improving record to 9-0. Les Kakazu hits a two-run homer in the fifth in the opener of a twin bill at Aloha Stadium.
No. 400: (400-147-1, .731), March 17, 1983. UH 12, Wichita State 9. The No. 9 Rainbows win a walk-a-thon against the No. 2 Shockers (15 free passes issued by WSU pitchers, 10 by UH). Glenn Braggs knocks in two runs with two hits and Bruce Walton ups his record to 6-0, his 15th consecutive victory over two years.
No. 425: (425-158-1, .729), May 7, 1983. UH 9, San Diego State 5. Greg Oniate has three hits and two RBIs and Randy Inaba is 2-for-2 with two RBIs. Ross Hayashi wins in relief. The Aztecs clinch the Southern Division crown in the second game.
No. 450: (450-175-2, .719), March 30, 1984. UH 4, Lewis-Clark State 2. Joel Lono scatters 12 hits as UH wins the final game of the Easter Tournament to break even at 3-3. Cano Garcia has two RBIs.
No. 475: (475-183-2, .721), May 19, 1984. UH 5, San Diego State 4. Greg Burlingame pitches a complete game as UH wins its third WAC championship in four years. Kahai Shishido hits a homer and has two RBIs. Mario Monico has two hits.
No. 500: (500-194-2, .720), March 16, 1985. UH 6, Murray State 5. Todd Crosby gets a one-out single and Mario Monico follows with a triple to left-center field to score the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Mike Campbell fans 10 to win his fifth game of the season in the seven-inning opener of a doubleheader.
Star-Bulletin file photo
San Diego State coach Jim Dietz and Murakami
have had many memorable battles against each other.
No. 525: (525-214-2, .710), May 4, 1985. UH 6, San Diego State 1. Greg Burlingame and Bruce Walton combine on a six-hitter in the second game of a doubleheader sweep. Mark Hadama knocks in two runs with a single and a sacrifice fly.
No. 550: (550-223-2, .711), March 21, 1986. UH 9, Hawaii Pacific 1. Nelson Inabata, Larry Gonzales, Randy Oyama and Markus Owens each have two hits in UH's Easter Tournament opener. Mark Furtak picks up the victory.
No. 575: (575-238-2, .707). May 23, 1986. UH 8, UC-Santa Barbara 6. Todd Crosby is 3-for-5 and Dan Nyssen hits a three-run homer in the third. Mike Ponio wins his ninth game of the season with relief from Joey Vierra as the 'Bows go to 2-0 in the NCAA West Regional at UCLA.
No. 600: (600-256-2, .700), April 11, 1987. UH 15, Colorado State 0. Five Hawaii pitchers combine for a three-hitter as UH sweeps the four-game series. Steve Morris contributes three RBIs, Markus Owens homers and Dan Nyssen is 3-for-3.
No. 625: (625-260-2, .706), February 13, 1988. UH 5, Stanford 4. Richie Kibota walks on a 3-1 pitch with the bases loaded to force home Randy Oyama with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th. Catcher Larry Gonzales makes his first appearance on the mound and pitches the top of the 10th to earn the victory.
No. 650: (650-273-2, .704), April 17, 1988. UH 8, Utah 7 (10 innings). Steve Otani, benched to start the game, enters in the sixth inning and singles twice. His bloop hit behind first base in the 10th scores John Matias, who tripled to open the inning. Norman Holt gets the win in relief.
No. 675: (675-292-3, .697), March 25, 1989. UH 6, Fordham 2. Jeff Ball gets credit for his first college victory with 3-1/3 innings of hitless relief. Todd Takayoshi's two-out, two-run double off the wall in right-center field breaks a 2-2 tie in the seventh.
No. 700: (700-305-3, .696), May 20, 1989. UH 8, Brigham Young 2. Jeff Vierra pitches a complete-game victory as UH comes back through the losers' bracket to win the WAC championship. Ross Kagawa's three-run homer to left in the third inning ignites UH. Brian Hart goes 3-for-3.
No. 725: (725-324-4, .690), April 15, 1990. UH 7, Colorado State 3. Jon Viela, Randy Vollmer and Dwayne Daughtry all have two hits. Vollmer and Todd Takayoshi have two RBIs as Scott Karl wins the first game of a doubleheader. Levon Largusa pitches a seven-inning no-hitter in the second game.
No. 750: (750-335-4, .691), March 8, 1991. UH 14, Murray State 7. Left-hander Bill Blanchette scatters 13 hits to win his fifth without a defeat. Five 'Bows have two hits each. Chris Dugger, Todd Takayoshi and Tim Albert each drive in two runs.
No. 775: (775-339-4, .695), April 21, 1991. UH 7, Grand Canyon 5. Tyler Cheff and Erik Evans each knock in two runs and the Rainbows survive a four-run Grand Canyon ninth. Brady Perreira improves his record to 6-0.
No. 800: (800-354-4, .693), March, 7, 1992. UH 11, Washington 3. Kevin Curtis is 3-for-4 with two RBIs as the Rainbows score the first eight runs in the fourth (3) and fifth (5) innings with two out. The 14th consecutive sellout includes the one-millionth fan to enter Rainbow Stadium.
No. 825: (825-360-4, .696), May 3, 1992. UH 6, San Diego State 4. Scott Craven is 3-for-3, including a homer, and has 3 RBIs. Levon Largusa gets the win with relief help from Craig Tucker in the first game of a doubleheader at San Diego.
No. 850: (850-374-4, .694), March 7, 1993. UH 11, Illinois 5. Kenny Harrison belts two home runs and knocks in five runs as UH salvages the finale of a three-game series. Ryan Fujitani has three RBIs and Corey Ishigo is 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Matt Apana improves to 6-0.
No. 875: (875-388-4, .692), January 29, 1994. UH 6, California 3. Kirk Taguchi's sacrifice fly ties the score at 3 in the fifth. He doubles home two insurance runs in the eighth. Roger Mills earned the win with Andrew McNally picking up the save.
No. 900: (900-417-4, .683), January 21, 1995. UH 9, UCLA 8. Corey Ishigo draws a bases-loaded walk to force home Robert Medeiros with the winning run in the 12th inning as Mark Johnson gets the win with five innings of relief. Jody Napuunoa is 3-for-6 and scores twice.
No. 925: (925-435-4, .680), April 23, 1995. UH 5, Fresno State 3. Mark Johnson pitches a complete game and the 'Bows rally for four runs in the seventh. Chris Garnett's single scores Robert Medeiros and Jaime Ahu for the final two runs.
No. 950: (950-466-4, .670), March 28, 1996. UH 4, Wright State 1. Daven Hermosura makes his long-awaited debut and pitches a six-hit, complete game with one walk and seven strikeouts. Robert Medeiros goes 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
No. 975: (975-495-4, .663), April 20, 1997. UH 7, San Jose State 2. Darren Blakely and Michael Dartt each knock in two runs in support of Andrew McNally's four-hit pitching over eight innings.
Rainbow Men Baseball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
