FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii second baseman Jon Hee tagged UAB's Nick Crawford, who was caught trying to steal second base in the sixth inning.
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Montplaisir uses his head and his stick
Since taking a ball off his head wasn't enough, Sean Montplaisir used his bat to give the Rainbows an elusive win.
Montplaisir was hit in the head by a pitch with the bases loaded to put Hawaii up by one in the seventh. After Alabama-Birmingham tied it in the ninth, Montplaisir's infield single with two outs scored Kevin Fujii from second as the Rainbows squeezed out a wild 4-3 victory over UAB last night at Les Murakami Stadium.
Montplaisir brought a crowd of 633 to its feet with a ground ball up the middle in the ninth that Blazers shortstop Brint Hardy made a diving stop on. He had no play at first and Fujii rounded third and beat the throw at home to end the game.
"There was no excuses, I just had to make it home," Fujii said.
Hawaii (6-9) snapped a six-game losing streak, but it wasn't the kind of performance Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso wanted out of his team.
"Typical story right out of the gate. We let a guy score on a freebie and we're nonexistent at the plate for six innings," Trapasso said. "That's not how you play. I'm not happy at all."
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii third baseman Vinnie Catricala awaited the late throw as UAB's Brint Hardy successfully stole third base during last night's game at Les Murakami Stadium. The Rainbows ended a six-game losing streak with a 4-3 win.
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Matt Daly, who had spent most of the early season as a starter, blew his second save in as many appearances out of the bullpen. He gave up a hit and a walk to start the ninth inning and surrendered an RBI double to Ryan Keedy with two outs that tied the game at 3.
Rainbows starter Josh Slaats threw 107 pitches in six innings, and kept the Blazers in check by allowing only one run on five hits while striking out four and walking three.
"I think he got better today," Trapasso said. "We might have found something there. But overall, our effort was piss poor."
The only problem for Slaats was his lack of run support. Hawaii didn't advance a runner past second base while he was in the game.
UAB lefthander Johnny Volk allowed three hits through six innings and didn't face more than one batter over the minimum in any inning. He struck out six and took a 2-0 lead into the seventh, where he ran into trouble. He opened the inning by issuing his second walk and was pulled one batter later.
That immediately spelled trouble for the Blazers as Kevin Macdonald, who was 6-for-43 for the season, smashed an RBI single off reliever Kyle Roberson up the middle to make it 2-1. After a walk to Landon Hernandez, Fujii smacked an RBI double off the glove of the shortstop into center field to score Macdonald and tie the game at 2.
Roberson thought he was out of the inning after snagging a line drive by Greg Garcia and then doubling off Fujii at second. Umpire Jeff Peterson ruled Fujii safe though, as the shortstop and second baseman got tangled up. But TV replays indicated Fujii was out.
Roberson proceeded to intentionally walk Hee to load the bases for Montplaisir, who took a pitch in the head, forcing Hernandez home for a 3-2 lead.
The teams meet again tonight at 6:35.
Hawaii 4, UAB 3
UAB |
AB |
R |
H |
BI |
Hawaii |
AB |
R |
H |
BI
|
Merritt ss |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Hee 2b |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Hardy rf |
4 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
Montplaisir lf |
4 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
Bell lf |
4 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
Haislet cf |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0
|
Keedy 1b |
5 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
Catricala 3b |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0
|
Taylor dh |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Van Doornum rf |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0
|
Stewart 3b |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Zimny rf |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
McMurry cf |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
Macdonald 1b |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1
|
Aubin c |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Hernandez dh |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0
|
Crawford 2b |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
Fujii c |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
Young ss |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
|
|
|
|
|
Garcis ph/ss |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Totals |
36 |
3 |
10 |
3 |
Totals |
29 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
UAB |
100 |
000 |
101 |
-- |
3 |
10 |
0
|
Hawaii |
000 |
000 |
301 |
-- |
4 |
6 |
1 |
E--Hee. DP--UAB 1. LOB--UAB 11; Hawaii 8. 2B--Bell; Keedy; Fujii. SH--Zimny. SB--Hardy; Bell. CS--Crawford.
UAB |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO
|
Volk (L, 1-2) |
6 1/3 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
6
|
Roberson |
2 1/3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2
|
Hawaii |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO
|
Slaats |
6 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
4
|
Kramer |
2 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3
|
Daly (W, 3-1) |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
HBP--by Slaats (Hardy); by Volk (Hee); by Roberson (Montplaisir); by Roberson (Fujii).
Umpires--Joe Burleson (Plate); Pat Riley (First); Jeff Peterson (Third).
T--3:04. A--633.