Rainbows punch out
Rice in pitcher’s duel

Hawaii counters Rice’s
traditionally tough pitching

The Hawaii Rainbows got maximum mileage out of their three hits to edge Rice 3-2 in the opener of a three-game Western Athletic Conference baseball series last night before 1,620 fans at Les Murakami Stadium.

HAWAII 3 RICE 2 NEXT UP vs. Rice, today

Starter Stephen Bryant and closer Steven Wright combined on a six-hitter and 10 strikeouts for UH. Bryant broke a three-game losing streak with his fifth win as Wright picked up his second save by striking out five of the six Owls he faced.

"Pitching and defense. That was the formula we knew we would have to use when we played Rice. We won't score a lot of runs off their pitchers," said UH coach Mike Trapasso.

Hawaii (18-20 overall, 5-8 WAC) took advantage of a bit of momentary wildness by Rice starter Josh Geer to overcome a 1-0 deficit.

Geer had trouble finding the strike zone to start the fourth, when he walked Derek Dupree and Isaac Omura with his first nine pitches. Nate Thurber's sacrifice bunt advanced the runners a base.

With two down, Adam Roberts lined Geer's first pitch to right-center field for a two-run double. Schafer Magana then pounded a ball into the artificial turf that bounced high over third baseman Greg Buchanan into left field for an RBI single and a 3-1 UH lead.

Little did the Rainbows know, that would be their last hit of the game, but it would be enough. The only other UH base runner after the fourth was Luis Avila, who reached second when Rice center fielder Tyler Henley dropped his two-out fly ball in the seventh.

"We got a couple of breaks with the walks, and Thurber put down a great bunt," said Trapasso. "I'm very happy for Adam. He has played well lately. That was a big hit after Matt (Inouye) struck out. We have to have people pick each other up."

Roberts, who grounded out to third in his first trip to the plate, had the hit sign the minute he stepped into the batter's box.

"I was just looking for a fastball over the plate. He (Geer) was mixing up his pitches very well and was tough to hit," said Roberts, who got the fastball he wanted. "I didn't try to do too much with it."

Tyler Henley grounded a 3-2 pitch into center field to start the No. 15 Owls (23-13, 6-7) in the first. With one out he stole second, then took third on Joe Savery's fly ball to left and scored on a wild pitch.

The 'Bows' only other hit off Geer was a one-out, line single to right by Avila in the third. He moved to second on a groundout, took third on a wild pitch, but was stranded when Joe Spiers grounded out to end the inning.

Geer did not allow a hit after the fourth inning. At one point he fanned five consecutive Rainbows and finished with 10 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings.

After the first inning, Bryant held the Owls scoreless until two were out in the seventh. Adam Hale doubled on a 2-2 pitch for Rice's first extra-base hit of the night, then scored when Danny Lehmann doubled to left.

Following a visit from Trapasso, Bryant fanned Matt Moake to end the inning and keep UH ahead 3-2.

"Coach said he had Wright ready to go and asked if I want the next batter," said Bryant, who relied primarily on his fastball and changeup. "I was tired, but I told him I wanted that batter."

The senior right-hander fanned Moake on a 1-2 pitch to end the seventh.

Wright, who had to make a change in his mechanics after a couple of unsuccessful outings, said, "I was stepping across my body too much. It was not a dramatic change, but I felt a lot better tonight."

The series continues today at 6:35 p.m. with right-hander Colby Summer (1-2, 4.29 earned run average) pitching for UH.

Undefeated right-hander Eddie (4-0, 2.49) starts for the Owls.

WAC standings

	Conference				Overall
	W	L	Pct.	GB	W	L
Nevada	7	3	.700	--	18	13
San Jose State*	8	5	.615	1/2	19	13
Fresno State	5	5	.500	2	19	20
Rice	6	8	.429	3	24	14
Hawaii	6	8	.329	3	19	20
Louisiana Tech	5	8	.385	3 1/2	13	22

* -- San Jose State has one nonconference tie

Yesterday
Nevada 10, San Jose State 8
Louisiana Tech 2, Fresno State 1
Hawaii 3, Rice 2
Today
San Jose State at Nevada
Fresno State at Louisiana Tech
Rice at Hawaii, 6:35 p.m.

Hawaii 3, Rice 2

Rice	AB	R	H	BI	Hawaii	AB	R	H	BI
Henley cf	3	1	1	0	Spiers ss	4	0	0	0
Pendleton rf	4	0	0	0	Dupree cf	2	1	0	0
Savery 1b	4	0	1	0	Omura 2b	3	1	0	0
Rodgers dh	4	0	0	0	Thurber lf	2	0	0	0
Buchanan 3b	4	0	1	0	Wilder lf	0	0	0	0
Rodriguez ss	4	0	0	0	Inouye rf	3	0	0	0
Hale lf	2	1	2	0	Roberts dh	3	1	1	2
Lehman c	3	0	1	1	Magana 3b	3	0	1	1
Friday pr	0	0	0	0	Avila 1b	3	0	1	0
Reagan c	0	0	0	0	Lopez c	3	0	0	0
Moake 2b	3	0	0	0
Totals	31	2	6	1	Totals	26	3	3	3
Rice	100	000	100	--	2	6	1
Hawaii	000	300	00x	--	3	3	0

E--Henley. DP--Hawaii 1. LOB--Rice 4; Hawaii 3. 2B--Hale; Lehman; Roberts. SH--Thurber. SB--Henley. CS--Hale.

Rice	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Geer (L, 7-3)	7 2/3	3	3	3	2	10
Bell	1/3	0	0	0	0	0
Hawaii	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Bryant (W, 5-3)	7	6	2	2	1	5
Wright (S, 2)	2	0	0	0	0	5

WP--Geer; Bryant. HBP--by Geer (Dupree); by Bryant (Henley).
Umpires--Jim Burleson (plate), Billy Speck (first), Darrel Mason (third).
T--2:17. A--1,620.