Monday, April 6, 1998
Long ball carries
UH past Air Force
The Rainbow baseball team
Star-Bulletin staff
hits a team record-tying five
home runs for a 21-7 victoryAIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The University of Hawaii baseball team might not be on life support yet in trying to qualify for the Western Athletic Conference tournament.
However, resuscitation in the form of a defining winning streak is needed if the Rainbows (27-14 overall, 5-10 WAC) are to close the regular season with at least an 18-12 league mark. That's what UH head coach Les Murakami said will be necessary to make the playoffs.
Yesterday's 21-7 victory over the Air Force Academy (10-24, 4-11) barely neutralized the pain of losing a doubleheader Saturday. UH had 48 hits and scored 43 runs in the three-game series, but returned home with just one victory.
The problem: The Falcons scored 38 runs on 62 hits. Hitting .252 entering the series, Air Force batters enjoyed the weekend, hitting .549.
Even yesterday, UH starter Troy Yoshimasu and relievers Ikaika Baptista and Randon Ho combined to hurl a neat 18-hitter.
Freshman catcher Kramer Aoki led the Rainbows' offense with two home runs to right field, two singles and six RBIs.
Darren Blakely was 4-for-5 with three RBIs. Neal Honma and Greg Millichap also hit home runs for Hawaii. The five homers tied a team record, the fourth time UH has accomplished that feat. The last was at Brigham Young on May 1, 1997.
Matt Wheeler also had three RBIs, going 4-for-6.
Other than Jamie Aloy's one-inning, three-strikeout performance in Saturday's second game, Ho had the most creditable outing of the series. He pitched the final four innings yesterday, scattering six hits, walking one and striking out two. Ho earned the save, his first, and Baptista got the victory, his first.
Hawaii, still firmly in last place in the WAC West Division, opens a six-game homestand Friday at 6:05 p.m. against Texas Christian, in second place in the South Division.
After the Texas Christian series, Grand Canyon, the leader in the North Division, comes to Rainbow Stadium April 17-19.
Going deep
Kramer Aoki:
Led by freshman catcher Kramer Aoki's two home runs, Hawaii hit five homers in a game for the fourth time. Hawaii scored at least 17 runs and averaged 18.5 runs in those four games, all victories. Hawaii's other five-homer games:
April 13,1981 UH 18, Wichita State 12
Hawaii Air Force ab r h bi ab r h bi Millichap lf 6 1 1 2 Thiessen ss 6 0 3 2 Honma rf 5 3 3 1 Hillberg cf 4 0 1 0 Martin rf 1 0 1 0 Boomsma rf 5 1 3 1 Aloy 1b 6 3 1 0 Lauritsen 1b 4 1 2 0 Nakano dh 5 3 2 2 Humphrey 3b 5 1 3 1 Wheeler 3b 6 2 4 3 Frosch dh 3 0 1 1 Blakely cf 5 4 4 3 Dycus ph 1 0 0 0 Chan 2b 3 1 1 0 Sisto lf 5 0 0 0 Konishi ph 0 0 0 1 Murphy c 4 3 3 1 Pico 2b 2 0 0 1 Stolley 2b 1 1 1 0 Aoki c 6 2 4 6 Shannon ph 1 0 1 1 Stegmaier c 0 0 0 0 Dartt ss 6 2 2 0 Totals 51 21 23 19 Totals 39 7 18 7 Hawaii 011 344 503--21 Air Force 000 312 001-- 7E--Wheeler (1), Thiessen (7), Humphrey (14), Sisto (4), Stolley 2 (13).DP--Hawaii 3 (Chan-Dartt-Aloy 2, Dartt-Aloy). LOB--UH 9, AFA 12.
2B--Aloy (10), Nakano (2), Wheeler (8), Blakely 2 (8), Thiessen 2 (13), Boomsma (12), Lauritsen (16), Humphrey (7), Murphy 4). HR--Aoki 2 (2), Millichap (2), Honma (2), Blakely (5). SB--Wheeler (1). SF--Konishi (2), Frosch (1).
IP H R ER BB SO Yoshimasu 4 9 4 4 1 1 Baptista (W, 1-0) 1 3 2 2 1 0 Ho (S, 1) 4 6 1 1 1 2 Jessop (L, 1-1) 4 6 5 5 0 1 Menges 1-1/3 6 6 4 0 2 Tarkowski 2/3 4 6 6 1 1 Bashore 2 3 1 0 1 4 Skalko 1 4 3 2 0 1Yoshimasu pitched to two batters in the fifth.Baptista pitched to three batters in the sixth.
Tarkowski pitched to four batters in the seventh.
WP--Yoshimasu (7), Skalko (1). HBP--Stolley 3 (by Yoshimasu 2, by Ho), Blakely (by Menges), Honma (by Tarkowski).
Umpires--Ringsby (plate), Castorena (first), Schafer (third).
T--3:39. A--155.
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