Haislet, Hee lead ’Bows over Wolverines

An about-face at the plate had the Hawaii baseball team feeling good entering the Rainbows' final home game of the year.

Brandon Haislet went 3-for-5 and drove in four runs, Jonathan Hee added two RBIs on three hits and Hawaii held off Utah Valley, 9-6, behind 11 hits last night at Les Murakami Stadium.

The Rainbows looked to rebound from what coach Mike Trapasso termed an "embarrassing offensive outing" in Thursday's series opener, a 5-1 defeat to the Wolverines. They did just that with a four-run sixth inning that was the difference entering today's rubber match.

"I was struggling, and I worked on it a little bit in the cage," said Haislet, who went 0-for-4 in the opener. "Just had to figure out something that worked."

A chance for a .500 regular season is now within the grasp of the Rainbows (27-28), who want to play well entering the Western Athletic Conference tournament in Ruston, La.

"It's a great opportunity. We started out real rough in preseason," said Haislet, one of nine seniors. "(The chance) to come out at .500 means a lot to this program right now."

Although the 'Bows' effort at the plate was much better, Hawaii's middle relief -- Sam Spangler and Josh Slaats -- was a source of concern for Trapasso as the Wolverines (16-36-1) loaded the bases in the seventh and eighth to pull within 7-5.

Matt Daly, inserted with two outs in the eighth, came up with a huge stop by getting Tyler Garretson to fly out with the bases loaded after the batter earned a 3-0 count.

"It doesn't surprise me at all to see these guys bounce back like that," Trapasso said. "They battled, and that's what we had to do."

Hawaii got on the board in the first when Haislet knocked home Matt Roquemore on what could have been an inning-ending double play by the Wolverines -- but second baseman Ryan Jones made an errant throw to first.

Haislet sent the first pitch of the fourth inning over the left-field wall for his sixth homer of the year, giving Hawaii a 2-0 lead. Six batters later, UVU starter Aaron Brady walked in Vinnie Catricala for a three-run edge.

Senior starter Joshua Schneider put in five strong innings as the 'Bows faced the minimum through four, and recovered after allowing runners on first and second in the fifth by turning their second double play on a grounder by Josh Hinckley.

Utah Valley answered in the sixth with an RBI up the middle by Jones, who plated Garretson after the left fielder put himself in scoring position at second base with a steal. Schneider was lifted in favor of freshman reliever Spangler, who promptly gave up an RBI single to Jace Brinkerhoff to allow the Wolverines to pull within a run.

A two-out flurry of extra-base hits gave the 'Bows some separation in the bottom of the frame. Second baseman Greg Garcia smacked a two-run triple against the center-field wall, scoring Kevin Fujii and Roquemore with the added benefit of knocking out Brady. Hee followed with a double down the left-field line to score Garcia, and Haislet kept it going with a double to center to cap a four-run explosion.

The Wolverines turned on the heat again in the seventh with a score on an error, followed by a two-RBI single off Josh Slaats from Jones with the bases loaded to pull within 7-5 -- but that would be it for the visitors from Orem, Utah.

Hee and Haislet notched RBI singles in the bottom of the eighth to put the game away before a solo shot from Brinkerhoff in the ninth capped the scoring.

"It was a dogfight, and I expect nothing to change (today)," Trapasso said. "We're going to play our seniors tomorrow, and bid those guys aloha."