[ RAINBOW BASEBALL ]
’Bows lose on SAN JOSE, Calif. >> Hawaii may have lost a heartbreaker yesterday, but Rainbow coach Mike Trapasso wanted to talk about the performance of two 'Bows who are part of the program's future foundation.
homer in ninth
Danny Mocny and Ricky Bauer
give Trapasso something
to look forward toFrom staff and wire services
Adam Shorsher hit a one-out home run over the left-field wall in the bottom of the ninth inning to provide the San Jose State Spartans with a dramatic 4-3 Western Athletic Conference victory.
The Spartans (39-13 overall, 17-7 WAC) swept the three-game series and have defeated UH 12 consecutive times at Municipal Stadium.
In a battle of freshmen right-handers, SJSU's Matt Durkin ended up besting UH's Ricky Bauer, but the Spartans had to fight for everything they got. Bauer walked two and struck out two and scattered eight hits, although the last one went too far.
He also hit two batters, and the second one -- Kevin Frandsen to start the seventh inning -- cost Bauer. After being sacrificed to second, Frandsen scored on Shorsher's single to left to tie the score at 3.
"We've seen Ricky pitch well for six weeks in a row. He had good stuff, great fastball command early and a change-up he threw for strikes," said Trapasso. "He just got the ball up a little and over the plate to Shorsher.
"San Jose State is the best team in the league when it comes to recognizing pitches. They do not swing at bad pitches."
Trapasso had checked with Bauer prior to the ninth inning to see how he felt. He had thrown 100 pitches through eight innings, 68 of them strikes.
However, Bauer was hit in the right ribs with a hard shot off the bat of Gabe Lopez to start the eighth inning. He recovered to make the putout at first, then fell to the ground in pain. He had the wind knocked out of him but was able to continue.
Bauer also convinced Trapasso there were no lingering effects and was ready for the ninth inning. After Bauer got Travis Becktel on a groundout, Shorsher picked on a 1-0 pitch to end the game.
The only time the Rainbows had Durkin in trouble was the second inning, when they rapped out four consecutive hits to score their three runs.
Danny Mocny started the two-out rally with a single. Julian Russell singled to right. Brian Bock doubled down the left-field line on the first pitch to score Mocny. Lane Nogawa followed with another double to score Russell and Bock.
Durkin surrendered just one hit the rest of the game. He did not walk a batter and fanned 13 'Bows, the high for the Spartan staff this season. Durkin struck out Gregg Omori and Tim Montgomery three times each.
Mocny's single ran his hitting streak to six, presently the longest on the team. He has at least one hit in each game since filling in at third base for the injured Brent Cook. Mocny also played superb defense in the series.
"That was one of the fun things about this series, watching Danny and Ricky, seeing how they have matured and developed," said Trapasso. "It's exciting knowing they will be with us for the future."
Cook, who played center field in the first and third games, and attended his grandmother's funeral Saturday, has told the UH coaches he feels more comfortable in the outfield.
The Rainbows (15-32, 4-17) play their final homestand this week, opening a three-game series Thursday at 6:35 p.m. against Louisiana Tech.
San Jose St. 4, Hawaii 3
Hawaii (15-32) AB R H BI SJS (39-13) AB R H BI Nogawa 2b 4 0 1 2 Quintero cf 3 0 1 0 Cook cf 4 0 1 0 Corrick lf 4 0 1 0 Omori 1b 4 0 0 0 Lopez 2b 4 0 0 0 Martines dh 4 0 1 0 Zamora dh 2 1 1 0 Montgomery rf 4 0 0 0 Baker 1b 4 1 1 0 Boudon lf 4 0 0 0 Frandsen 3b 3 1 1 1 Mocny 3b 4 1 1 0 Becktel rf 3 0 0 1 Russell ss 3 1 1 0 Shorsher c 4 1 2 2 Bock c 3 1 1 1 Adams ss 3 0 1 0 Totals 34 3 6 3 Total 30 4 8 4
Hawaii 030 000 000 -- 3 6 0 San Jose St. 020 000 101 -- 4 8 2 E--Frandsen (4), Adams (11). DP--Hawaii 1 (Nogawa-Russell-Omori), San Jose St. 1 (Frandsen-Lopez-Baker). LOB--Hawaii 4, San Jose St. 6. 2B--Nogawa (13), Bock (5), Quintero (12). HR--Shorsher (13). SH--Becktel (6). SB--Cook (17).
Hawaii IP H R ER BB SO Bauer (L, 1-6) 8.1 8 4 4 2 2 San Jose St. IP H R ER BB SO Durkin (W, 9-1) 9.0 6 3 3 0 13 HBP--by Bauer (Zamora), by Bauer (Frandsen. Umpires--HP: Ron Ramirez, 1B: Jim Garman, 3B: Steve Mattingly. T--2:03. A--608.
WAC standings
Conference Overall W L Pct. GB W L Pct. Rice 20 1 .952 -- 39 8 .830 SanJose St. 17 7 .708 4 1/2 39 13 .750 Fresno St. 13 8 .619 7 26 24 .520 Nevada 7 14 .333 13 20 26 .435 LaTech 5 19 .208 16 1/2 19 30 .388 Hawaii 4 17 .190 16 15 32 .319 Yesterday
San Jose State 4, Hawaii 3
Nevada 11, Louisiana Tech 9
Sacramento State 8, Fresno State 5
UH Athletics
