Sweep of Fresno State saves 'Bows' season
POSTED: Sunday, May 10, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. » Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso didn't even wait for a question.
“;We saved our season,”; he said yesterday evening after the Rainbows swept a doubleheader from Fresno State.
Yeah, you could say that. Hawaii came into yesterday's games having lost seven consecutive Western Athletic Conference affairs and residing in sixth place in the standings. The Rainbows were facing the embarrassing proposition of missing the WAC tournament, which will be held back at Les Murakami Stadium in two weeks.
Instead, they moved back into fourth place and are assured of making the conference tournament thanks to yesterday's 15-10, 15-6 victories. Hawaii also broke the program record for home runs in a season; with five yesterday, the Rainbows have 60, two better than the mark set in 1983.
“;It was a huge day,”; Trapasso said. “;The biggest day of the season. You work from August and it comes down to one day. You really feel the need to win them both on Fresno's field to make sure you get into your own tournament.”;
“;It was beyond huge for us,”; UH right fielder Matt Roquemore said. “;We needed those wins today. Just to keep us alive and keep us going for the WAC tournament and beyond, hopefully.”;
The day began auspiciously for Hawaii (29-22, 11-12 WAC). Ryan Morford led off the first game with a bloop to second base. Danny Muno dove for the ball, but it was ruled no catch. Morford had started to turn toward the dugout before realizing he was safe. Vinnie Catricala knocked Morford in with a single for a 1-0 lead.
The Rainbows built that advantage to 7-1, but as happened in the first two games of the series, the Bulldogs (24-27, 8-12) rallied. Alan Ahmady hit a three-run homer in the fifth to cut the lead to 7-6. However, unlike the first two games, Hawaii responded, building the lead back to 15-7. Greg Garcia hit a two-run homer in the seventh. Kevin Macdonald added a solo shot and Sean Montplaisir hit a two-run bomb in the ninth. Fresno got three runs in the bottom of the ninth to make the score respectable.
In the second game, Kolten Wong got the Rainbows started with a two-run double in the first, then scored on Montplaisir's double. Montplaisir had a huge weekend, going 10-for-16 with three homers and eight RBIs.
The game stayed close into the middle innings. Christian Johnson's three-run homer in the fifth made it 9-4. Fresno State loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the fifth, but Jayson Kramer induced Gavin Hedstrom to ground into a double play to get out of the jam. A six-run seventh put the game out of reach.
Roquemore went 7-for-11 in the doubleheader to pace the offense.
“;That was just one of those days where everything seemed to be going my way,”; Roquemore said. “;It wasn't just me. We had a lot of guys with multiple-hit games, a lot of guys driving in runs.”;
The offense responded to the moment and Hawaii, indeed, saved its season.
“;I think (today's) were the most important games of my life,”; Montplaisir said. “;Everybody went out there with high expectations. We knew we had to take both of them.”;
WAC Standings
| Conference | Overall |
|||||
| W | L | Pct. | GB | W-L |
||
| San Jose State | 11 | 6 | .647 | — | 35-16 | |
| Louisiana Tech | 11 | 9 | .550 | 1 1/2 | 26-18 | |
| Nevada | 9 | 9 | .500 | 2 1/2 | 24-25 | |
| Hawaii | 11 | 12 | .478 | 3 | 29-22 | |
| New Mexico State | 9 | 10 | .474 | 3 | 38-13 | |
| Sacramento State | 8 | 9 | .470 | 3 | 26-21 | |
| Fresno State | 8 | 12 | .400 | 4 1/2 | 24-27 |
Yesterday
Hawaii 15, Fresno State 10
Hawaii 15, Fresno State 6
San Jose State 20, New Mexico State 7
San Jose State 15, New Mexico State 11
Sacramento State 9, Nevada 6
Sacramento State 12, Nevada 6
Today
Sacramento State at Nevada
San Jose State at New Mexico State
Hawaii 15, Fresno State 10
| Hawaii | AB | R | H | BI | Fresno St. | AB | R | H | BI |
| Morford 2b | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | Muno 2b | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Garcia ss | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Robinson lf | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Catricala 3b | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | Ahmady 1b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Macdonald 1b | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | Mendonca 3b | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Wong cf | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | Gowens rf | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Montplaisir lf | 5 | 1 | 3 | 5 | Hedstrom cf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Johnson dh | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | Wise dh | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Roquemore rf | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | Garrison c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fujii c | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Johnson c | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vivas ss | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Ribera ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Totals | 45 | 15 | 22 | 15 | Totals | 36 | 10 | 11 | 8 |
| Hawaii | 200 | 503 | 302 | — | 15 | 22 | 2 |
| Fresno St. | 001 | 140 | 103 | — | 10 | 11 | 2 |
E—Catricala; Wong; Ahmady; Garrison. DP—Hawaii 3; Fresno St. 1. LOB—Hawaii 12; Fresno St. 4. 2B—Morford 2; Macdonald; Montplaisir 2; Johnson, Ch.; Muno; Robinson 2; Wise. HR—Garcia; Macdonald; Montplaisir; Ahmady; Mendonca; Vivas. HBP—Montplaisirl Fujii; Ahmady. SF—Ahmady. SB—Robinson; Mendonca. CS—Catricala.
| Hawaii | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Klein (W, 2-3) | 8 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| Linsky | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Fresno St. | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Kendall (L, 2-1) | 3 1/3 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 |
| Poytress | 2 2/3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Escat | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Robertson | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Umpires—Heath Jones (Plate); John Pollack (First); Scott Lakinder (Third).
T—3:02. A—N/A.
Hawaii 15, Fresno State 6
| Hawaii | AB | R | H | BI | Fresno St. | AB | R | H | BI |
|
| Morford 2b | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | Muno 2b | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Garcia ss | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | Detwiler ph | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Catricala 3b | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Robinson lf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Macdonald 1b | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Johnson ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wong cf | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | Ahmady 1b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Montplaisir lf | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | Mendonca 3b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Johnson dh | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Gowens rf | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| Roquemore rf | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | Hedstrom cf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Fujii c | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wise dh | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Garrison c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Vivas ss | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Ribera ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Allgrove ss | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Totals | 36 | 15 | 16 | 15 | Totals | 29 | 6 | 9 | 5 |
| Hawaii | 320 | 040 | 6 | — | 15 | 16 | 3 |
| Fresno St. | 200 | 210 | 1 | — | 6 | 9 | 1 |
E—Catricala; Wong; Hedstrom. DP—Hawaii 1. LOB—Hawaii 7; Fresno St. 5. 2B—Catricala; Wong 2; Montplaisir; Johnson, Ch.; Robinson; Gowens. 3B—Garcia; Wise. HR—Morford; Johnson, Ch. HBP—Montplaisir. SH—Garcia. SF—Hedstrom. CS—Montplaisir.
| Hawaii | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Alexander (W, 3-1) | 4 1/3 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Kramer (S, 1) | 2 2/3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fresno St. | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Sprague (L, 5-3) | 6 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Harlan | 1/3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Bischoff | 1/3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Bonesteele | 1/3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Umpires—John Bullack (Plate); Scott Lakinder (First); Heath Jones (Third).
T—2:39. A—N/A.
