RAINBOW BASEBALL
Wright, ’pen pitch ’Bows past Trojans
The Hawaii Rainbows took advantage of an unearned run in the sixth inning to edge Southern California 4-3 in the opener of a nonconference baseball series at Les Murakami Stadium last night.
"You can't ask for a better game. We executed and played a pretty complete game," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "We had a good approach at the plate against one of college's premier pitchers."
The game featured a matchup between USC's Ian Kennedy and UH's Steven Wright, junior right-handers who were summer teammates and are expected to be high picks in the Major League Baseball draft this June.
UH's largest crowd of the season, 2,475, was not disappointed as the teams traded blows for six innings.
The Hawaii (10-2) bullpen did its job with Rich Olsen setting up closer Darrell Fisherbaugh, who earned his third save of the season by retiring the last two Trojans with the tying run on second.
Wright went 6 2/3 innings, allowing nine hits and three runs, all scored after two were out. He walked one and struck out nine with his slider being the out pitch. Wright improved to 3-0.
Trapasso brought Olsen in from the bullpen with two outs in the seventh, a runner on first and Baron Frost -- whose two-out hits brought in USC's first three runs -- at the plate. Olsen ran the count to 3-2, then retired Frost on a line drive to center.
"I thought Steven was tiring and he had just gotten a big strikeout," Trapasso said. "Frost had a couple hits off him and we had faith in Rich."
Wright said he played against Frost in the Cape Cod League last summer.
"Every time I made a mistake, he hit it," Wright said. "The Trojans are definitely a good hitting team. Every time I made a mistake tonight, they hit it and I made nine of them."
Kennedy gave up seven hits in seven innings, walked one and fanned five. But it was his throwing error in the sixth that allowed Jon Hee to reach base and eventually score the winning run.
Luis Avila's first-pitch double off the right-field wall started the two-run UH rally in the sixth.
On Hee's sacrifice bunt, Kennedy initially bobbled the ball, then threw it wide of first, allowing Avila to score and Hee to take second. Hee went to third on Jorge Franco's sacrifice, and scored on a groundout by Esteban Lopez to make it 4-3.
"I just tried to hurry the throw. I didn't keep my composure and threw it away," Kennedy said. "I wasn't as sharp tonight as I was the last two weeks."
The Trojans, who had at least one runner on base in every inning, threatened in the ninth. Michael Torres beat out a bouncer over the mound that shortstop Joe Spiers grabbed behind the bag and could not make a strong throw to first.
Matt Cusick sacrificed Torres to second base.
Fisherbaugh, a junior right-hander, struck out Blake Sharpe and got USC's leading hitter, Cyle Hankerd, to fly out to right.
"Darrell has the pitches that give us a better chance to get strikeouts with a runner in scoring position," Trapasso said. "He relishes the role and everything worked out OK."
The Rainbows scored first with a run in the second inning.
Hee grounded a one-out single off the mound into center field. Franco fouled off a pitch with an 0-2 count, then lined a double to right-center field that scored Hee.
The Trojans (7-6), ranked 24th by Baseball America, came right back in the top of the third inning with two runs.
Johnny Bowden and Cusick began the inning with singles. They were sacrificed up a base by Sharpe. Wright fanned Hankerd, but Frost drilled an 0-1 pitch to left center for a two-run ground-rule double.
Hawaii tied the score in the bottom of the inning.
Spiers singled to center, moved to second on Robbie Wilder's sacrifice bunt and scored on Derek Dupree's bloop double that fell inches fair down the left-field line.
USC took a 3-2 lead on Frost's two-out single to center in the fifth that scored Sharpe, who had doubled off the wall in right center.
The series continues tonight at 6:35 p.m.
Hawaii 4, USC 3
USC |
AB |
R |
H |
BI |
Hawaii |
AB |
R |
H |
BI
|
Cusick 3b |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
Wilder lf |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Sharpe 2bss |
4 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
Dupree cf |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1
|
Hankerd lf |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Frash dh |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Frost dh |
4 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
Avila 1b |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0
|
Vieira cf |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
Hee 3b |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0
|
Perales rf |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
Roquemore pr |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Estrella ss |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Roberts 3b |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Degener ph |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Franco rf |
2 |
0 |
2 |
1
|
Salinas c |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Lopez c |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Duda 1b |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Christensen 2b |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Bowden c |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
Spiers ss |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0
|
Torres 2b |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Totals |
34 |
3 |
10 |
3 |
Totals |
26 |
4 |
7 |
3
|
USC |
|
|
|
002 |
010 |
000 |
-- |
3 |
10 |
1
|
Hawaii |
|
|
|
011 |
002 |
00X |
-- |
4 |
7 |
0 |
E--Kennedy. LOB--USC 9, Hawaii 7. 2B--Sharpe, Frost, Dupree, Avila, Franco. SH--Cusick, Sharpe, Perales, Wilder 2, Hee, Franco 2. SB--Frost, Perales, Spiers. CS--Hee. |
USC |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO
|
Kennedy (L, 2-2) |
7 |
7 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
5
|
Dunn |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0
|
Hawaii |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO
|
Wright (W, 3-0) |
6 2/3 |
9 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
9
|
Olsen |
1 2/3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Fisherbaugh (S, 3) |
2/3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
WP--Wright. HBP--by Kennedy (Hee), by Olsen (Perales).
Umpires--Jim LeBeau (plate), Don Greman (first), Mike Evans (third).
T--3:01. A--2,475.