RAINBOW BASEBALL
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Landon Hernandez of Hawaii evaded the tag by SJSU shortstop Kyle Bellows while sliding into second after a wild pitch.
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’Bows’ pitching prevents sweep
You don't have to be overpowering to dominate -- especially with a good defense behind you.
Hawaii right-hander Joshua Schneider struck out two San Jose State batters yesterday. But he allowed just six baserunners, and Rainbow double plays erased five of them in UH's 6-0 victory over the Spartans.
A crowd of 1,389 at Les Murakami Stadium saw Landon Hernandez hit his first UH career homer and Schneider weave the Rainbows' first shutout since Mark Rodrigues and Tyler Davis combined for one against Arizona on March 10. It was the first complete game since Rodrigues' 5-1 win at UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 17
No San Jose State runner got past first, and Schneider faced just 28 batters -- one more than the minimum.
Coach Mike Trapasso said he strongly considered pulling Schneider going into the last inning, even though he'd retired eight straight batters from the sixth to the end of the eighth.
"But he was throwing well and went in (to the ninth) with 84 pitches," Trapasso said. "I just told Chad (pitching coach Konishi) I didn't want him going over 100. He threw 100 exactly. I wanted to get Tyler (relief ace Davis) some rest if I could."
Center fielder Brandon Haislet made a fine running catch on a drive by Greg Fyfe to start the ninth. Brody Massman singled, but then Mililani graduate Chris Balatico, who helped the Spartans win the first two games of the series, grounded into the fifth DP to end it.
"(Schneider) did a good job," said second baseman Jon Hee, who was involved in all five twin killings, which is one short of the school record. "He stayed down in the zone. Got ground balls and let his defense work for him today."
Hawaii (22-11) and San Jose State (18-12) are tied for second in the seven-team Western Athletic Conference with Louisiana Tech and Nevada, all at 3-3. Fresno State is in first at 4-2.
"Right in the hunt," said Trapasso, as the Rainbows prepare for a seven-game road trip starting at Sacramento State and ending at Fresno State. "But we have to play better for a whole series than we did this series."
Schneider improved to 3-1 and his ERA dropped to 1.91, as the Rainbows salvaged the last of the three-game series after the Spartans outscored them 11-2 in the first two.
"I felt good today, I was really happy the coaches let me go the distance today," said Schneider. "It was a great defensive game. I'm not a strikeout pitcher, so I love ground balls. Defense ... won the game for us today."
The bats helped, too.
Hernandez drove in three runs with two hits. He belted his first UH career homer, a two-run shot in the sixth.
"I was kind of dragging the bat a little bit, so I worked in the cage a little bit today and it helped me get quicker to the ball," said Hernandez, who has been standing more upright in the batter's box the last two weeks. "You don't try to hit a homer. Sometimes you hit a mistake and you get lucky."
Hernandez's second-inning single drove in Kevin Macdonald for the first run.
Macdonald, Kris Sanchez and Vinnie Catricala all also paired hits. Haislet's two-run single was the fourth consecutive hit to start the seventh, and plated Hee and Derek DuPree.
"The two rookies (freshmen Macdonald and Catricala) did the job," Trapasso said. "They're aggressive and fearless. We're going to see a lot of them, not just next year and the year after, but this year. We just went out there and tried to be more aggressive."
With none out in the fourth, Macdonald slashed a ball into left field for a hit after a fake bunt. Sanchez tried to score from second, but was gunned out by Balatico.
"He was waved in. Normally our philosophy is always protect no outs, hold him up," Trapasso said. "But when you're struggling and trying to scratch runs across and you're in a little funk like we've been the last couple games, you try to force the issue sometimes and make them make plays, and they did."
Hawaii 6, San Jose State 0
SJSU |
AB |
R |
H |
BI |
Hawaii |
AB |
R |
H |
BI
|
Balatico lf |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Hee 2b |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0
|
Klauer 3b |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
DuPree lf |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0
|
Angel cf |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Frash 3b |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0
|
Giovanatto rf |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Haislet cf |
4 |
0 |
1 |
2
|
McKimmy 2b |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Sanchez 1b |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0
|
Hasegawa ph |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Macdonald rf |
4 |
1 |
2 |
0
|
Chase dh |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
Catricala dh |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1
|
Bellows ss |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
Hernandez c |
4 |
1 |
2 |
3
|
Garza 1b |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Young ss |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Fyfe ph |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
San.-Hughes c |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0
|
Massman c |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0
|
Yocke pr |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Totals |
27 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
Totals |
34 |
6 |
12 |
6 |
San Jose State |
|
000 |
000 |
000 |
-- |
0 |
5 |
0
|
Hawaii |
|
|
|
010 |
003 |
20x |
-- |
6 |
12 |
0 |
DP-- Hawaii 5. LOB--SJSU 1, Hawaii 8. 2B--Sanchez 2. HR--Hernandez. HBP--Hee. SH--DuPree.
San Jose State |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO
|
Vidal (L, 1-2) |
6 |
8 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
3
|
Shannon |
2 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
|
Hawaii |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO
|
Schneider (W, 3-1) |
9 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
Umpires--Ray Leible (plate); James Garman (first); Chad McCardell (third).
T--2:10. A--1,389.
WAC standings
|
Conference |
Overall
|
|
W |
L |
Pct. |
GB |
W |
L
|
Fresno State |
4 |
2 |
.667 |
-- |
17 |
17
|
Louisiana Tech |
3 |
3 |
.500 |
1 |
22 |
14
|
Hawaii |
3 |
3 |
.500 |
1 |
22 |
11
|
Nevada |
3 |
3 |
.500 |
1 |
18 |
15
|
San Jose State |
3 |
3 |
.500 |
1 |
18 |
12
|
Sacramento State |
4 |
5 |
.444 |
1 1/2 |
9 |
20
|
New Mexico State |
4 |
5 |
.444 |
1 1/2 |
14 |
18 |
Yesterday
Hawaii 6, San Jose State 0
Nevada 15, New Mexico State 11
Fresno State 5, Sacramento State 2