RAINBOW BASEBALL
Bulldogs rise up to beat ’Bows
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RUSTON, La. » Pinch hitter Clint Ewing hit a walk-off, three-run homer as Louisiana Tech scored seven runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to stun Hawaii 10-9 yesterday at J.C. Love Field.
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vs. Sacramento State on Friday
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Matt Roquemore hit a two-run triple as part of a five-spot in the eighth as the Rainbows took a 9-3 lead.
The Bulldogs (18-24, 4-18 WAC) hit six home runs yesterday, including three in the ninth as Hawaii lost for the first time this season when leading after eight innings.
"It's going to be a long flight home, but we played well three out of the four games," second baseman Greg Garcia said. "It's just kind of one of those things that happened that usually won't happen."
Garcia had four of Hawaii's 16 hits and Brandon Haislet hit his fourth home run of the year for Hawaii (21-24, 13-11) which finds itself in third place in the WAC and three games behind league-leading Fresno State with eight conference games remaining.
Four of those come next weekend as the 'Bows play host to Sacramento State in the final home WAC series of the season beginning Friday.
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RUSTON, La. » Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso warned his baseball club that Louisiana Tech would come out swinging "with nothing to lose" this weekend.
He couldn't have been more right.
The Bulldogs, fighting not to be the one team left out of the WAC tournament they are hosting, hit 14 home runs in four games against the 'Bows. The final blow came off the bat of pinch hitter Clint Ewing with one out in the bottom of the ninth as his walk-off three-run homer to left-center gave Louisiana Tech a 10-9 victory yesterday and a split of the series at J.C. Love Field.
The Rainbows took a 9-3 lead into the ninth, only to see it disappear as a result of home runs by Nick Grunenwald, Chris Bohannan and Ewing. Hawaii had been 17-0 this season when leading after eight innings.
"It's a tough lesson to learn," Trapasso said. "Right when you start thinking the game is over before you get the last out, the game comes up and bites you."
Hawaii did all it could to pile on insurance runs in the eighth. Leading 4-3, the Rainbows sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning. Matt Roquemore hit a two-run triple to push the lead to three and pinch hitter Alex Myers singled him in with one out to make it 7-3. Jeff Van Doornum smacked a two-out RBI single and Kevin Macdonald followed with a run-scoring double as Hawaii tacked on five runs in the inning.
"The one run was not going to hold up. I knew that for sure," Trapasso said. "I thought a six-run lead would, but that's baseball."
Starter Matt Daly walked one batter in eight innings and scattered three solo home runs among the four hits he had given up entering the ninth.
With the six-run cushion, Daly looked to notch his first complete game of the season, but couldn't record an out in the ninth. Adam Cobb led off with a single before Grunenwald's second homer of the game cut the lead to four.
Daly was pulled after allowing the next batter to single, and reliever Jayson Kramer came on and immediately served up the long ball to Bohannan to make it 9-7.
Kramer only faced two batters, allowing a single to Albie Goulder before Trapasso turned to Cory Kahn to save the day. Kahn walked the first batter he faced and struck out Patrick Thomas before Ewing's three-run, walk-off blast to left-center cemented an improbable Bulldogs comeback.
"You're going to give up home runs in this park and give up home runs to their hitters," Trapasso said. "It's a killer when you lose a game like that, because you played well."
Kramer has established himself as the team's closer with four saves and hadn't pitched all series.
"You could see he had no focus and I wanted somebody in there who was," Trapasso said. "I think Kramer had shut down mentally. He thought the game was over and that cost us."
The ninth-inning meltdown overshadowed a strong outing by Daly, despite the six runs allowed. He gave up four homers, but he only walked one, which is where his problems have been all season.
It was either feast or famine for the Bulldogs against Daly, as only five batters reached base in the first eight innings. Three of those five came on solo home runs.
"You've got to give credit to LaTech," freshman Greg Garcia said. "Fly balls were getting out. They put some good swings on the ball."
Garcia had four hits and went 6-for-13 in the series to see his average rise to .313 for the season. Brandon Haislet went 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs and Roquemore drove in three runs filling in for Sean Montplaisir in the leadoff spot.
The 'Bows had won three straight series prior to splitting against the Bulldogs, but are still 12-5 in the month of April and have a shot at the WAC regular-season crown.
"You don't want to make it more than it is," Trapasso said of losing a six-run lead in the ninth. "The reality is we played well today and we've been playing well."
WAC Standings
|
W |
L |
Pct. |
|
GB |
W-L
|
Fresno State |
14 |
6 |
.700 |
|
-- |
26-20
|
Nevada |
12 |
8 |
.600 |
|
2 |
25-18
|
Hawaii |
13 |
11 |
.542 |
|
3 |
21-24 |
|
Sacramento State |
10 |
9 |
.526 |
|
3 1/2 |
19-23
|
San Jose State |
12 |
11 |
.522 |
|
3 1/2 |
24-18
|
New Mexico State |
9 |
11 |
.450 |
|
5 |
22-25
|
Louisiana Tech |
4 |
18 |
.206 |
|
11 |
18-24 |
Friday
Hawaii 13, Louisiana Tech 7
Fresno State 9, Nevada 3
New Mexico State 7, Sacramento State 4
Washington State 8, San Jose State 3
Saturday
Hawaii 8, Louisiana Tech 4
Louisiana Tech 14, Hawaii 4
Nevada 4, Fresno State 1
Nevada 7, Fresno State 3
New Mexico State 5 Sacramento State 3
New Mexico State 11, Sacramento State 5
Washington State 7, San Jose State 5
Yesterday
Louisiana Tech 10, Hawaii 9
Nevada 12, Fresno State 11
New Mexico State 14, Sacramento State 4
San Jose State 6, Washington State 2
Louisiana Tech 10, Hawaii 9
Hawaii |
AB |
R |
H |
BI |
LA Tech |
AB |
R |
H |
BI
|
Roquemore lf |
5 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Cobb cf |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0
|
DuPree dh |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Grunenwald ss |
4 |
2 |
2 |
3
|
Hoey ph |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Winn 2b |
4 |
2 |
2 |
1
|
Myers ph/dh |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Jones df/rf |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0
|
Hee ss |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
Bohannan rf |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2
|
Haislet cf |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
Goulder 1b |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0
|
Van Doornum rf |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Kersten 3b |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1
|
Macdonald 1b |
5 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
Stubbs lf |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Catricala 3b |
5 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
Bunting ph |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Garcia 2b |
5 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
Ewing ph |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3
|
Hernandez c |
5 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
Combs c |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Totals |
44 |
9 |
16 |
9 |
Totals |
33 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
Hawaii |
|
000 |
211 |
050 |
-- |
9 |
16 |
0
|
Louisiana Tech |
100 |
110 |
007 |
-- |
10 |
10 |
3 |
E--Grunenwald 2; Combs. DP--Hawaii 2; La Tech 1. LOB--Hawaii 12. 2B--Macdonald; Hernendez. 3B--Roquemore. HR--Haislet; Grunenwald 2; Winn; Bohannan; Kersten; Ewing. HBP--Roquemore; Hee. SB--Haislet. CS--Jones.
Hawaii |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO
|
Daly |
8 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
1 |
4
|
Kramer |
0 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0
|
Kahn (L, 2-2) |
1/3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1
|
LA Tech |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO
|
Moseley |
5 1/3 |
8 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
1
|
Lassere |
1/3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Richard |
1 2/3 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
3
|
Braud |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0
|
Anderson |
2/3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
Lorio (W, 5-3) |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
HBP-- by Moseley (Roquemore); by Moseley (Hee). Umpires--Steve Corvi (Plate); JJohn Ausmus (First); Jeff Patterson (Third).
T--2:57. A--580.