Friday, March 5, 1999
UH makes quick
work of BYU
Jamie Aloy goes the distance
By Al Chase
as the baseball 'Bows get their
first WAC win of the season
Star-BulletinThe first complete-game effort for either team this season was decided by which starting pitcher made the fewest mistakes.
Brigham Young right-hander Micah Mangrum and Hawaii left-hander Jamie Aloy didn't make many. Neither walked a batter and only seven putouts were recorded in the outfield. Infield grounders were the norm.
The last of four Rainbows Mangrum hit with a pitch and a belt-high fastball to Sean Takamori proved decisive in UH's 3-2 Western Athletic Conference victory. It was Hawaii's first 1999 WAC win and came in one hour, 56 minutes, the fastest game this season.
The Rainbows (14-5 overall, 1-3 WAC) took advantage of three BYU infielders going after Lars Hansen's high chopper toward the hole between first and second to start a two-out, second-inning rally. Hansen was safe at first when no one covered the base.Matt Wheeler then singled to center with Hansen taking third; Wheeler moved to second on a wild throw to the infield. Rah-Miel Mitchell followed with a three-bounce single into center field that scored both runners.
"Coach Les (Murakami) told me to get my hands through. It was a fastball on the outside. I just wanted to put the ball in play," Mitchell said.
The Cougars (7-11, 2-2) tied it on two pitches that didn't go exactly where Aloy planned.
David Jensen, who was recruited by UH, hit the first pitch he saw from Aloy 400 feet over the right-field wall in the fourth inning.
"It was a fastball in," Aloy said.
In the sixth, Gary Johnson belted a change-up for BYU's first triple of the season. The ball reached the right-center field wall on one bounce, easily scoring Shane Belliston to tie the score at 2-2.
Meanwhile, Mangrum had held UH hitless since the third inning when Takamori came up with two outs and Mitchell on first in the bottom of the seventh.
"He (Mangrum) was doing a good job of keeping the ball down and hitting his spots. I was sitting on the fastball and he gave it to me," Takamori said.
His line drive over shortstop split the outfielders for a triple as Mitchell motored home with the game-winning run.
"Our defense was good, but we didn't execute the little plays offensively," UH head coach Les Murakami said. "We played very, very tight. We played Wichita State looser than this, but when you get swept on the road you want to get the monkey off your back so bad, you put extra pressure on yourself.
"And, BYU played well, no question. As I said, their 7-10 record is very deceiving because they haven't played at home yet."
Aloy, who got to pitch the ninth inning because BYU had two lefties coming up, said he felt pretty good at the end.
"I caught my second wind about the sixth or seventh. Everything was working for me," he said. "The defense played great, made double plays when we needed them and you can't ask for more."
BYU head coach Gary Pullins also was pleased with the timely hits, defense and Mangrum's effort.
"This was a terrific game. You can go back and maybe drive yourself crazy with what if's, but I'm very proud of our kids," Pullins said.
"Coming here is what we needed to sharpen up our baseball skills, not just play home run derby."
'BOW BUNTS: UH starting pitcher Troy Yoshimasu pulled his left hamstring in practice Wednesday and is out this weekend ... UH shortstop Corey Miller has given up switch hitting and will only bat from the right side. "I saw the ball better from the left side, but the swing wasn't there," he said. "Now's not the time to experiment. I'll try this summer."
WAC
Conference Overall Team W L Pct. GB W L Pct. Rice 3 0 1.000 0 18 3 .857 Texas Christian 3 0 1.000 0 8 8 .500 Brigham Young 2 2 .500 1-1/2 7 11 .389 Utah 0 0 .000 1-1/2 10 7 .588 San Diego St. 0 0 .000 1-1/2 10 9 .526 Air Force 0 0 .000 1-1/2 9 9 .500 San Jose St. 0 0 .000 1-1/2 8 9 .471 Nevada-LV 0 0 .000 1-1/2 6 12 .333 New Mexico 1 2 .333 2 7 11 .389 Hawaii 1 3 .250 21/2 14 5 .737 Fresno St. 0 3 .000 3 7 11 .389Yesterday's result
Hawaii 3, Brigham Young 2
Brigham Young Hawaii ab r h bi ab r h bi Belliston cf 3 1 1 0 Takamori rf 3 0 1 1 Wirrick ph-cf 1 0 0 0 Dartt 2b 4 0 0 0 Greene lf 3 0 0 0 Wakakuwa 1b 4 0 0 0 Johnson rf 4 0 2 1 Nakano dh 4 0 1 0 Pond 2b 4 0 0 0 Martines lf 4 0 0 0 Jensen 1b 4 1 1 1 Honma lf 0 0 0 0 Circuit 3b 2 0 1 0 Hansen c 3 1 1 0 Davies dh 3 0 2 0 Wheeler 3b 3 1 1 0 Peterson pr 0 0 0 0 Miller ss 1 0 0 0 Howes ss 3 0 0 0 Mitchell cf 2 1 1 2 Freeman c 3 0 0 0 Totals 30 2 7 2 Totals 28 3 5 3 Brigham Young 000 101 000--2 Hawaii 020 000 10x--3E--Johnson (1). DP--BYU 1 (Pond-Howes-Jensen), UH 2 (Dartt-Miller-Wakakuwa, Wheeler-Dartt-Wakakuwa). LOB--BYU 3, UH 5.3B--Johnson (1), Takamori (1). HR--Jensen (3). S--Greene (1).
IP H R ER BB SO Mangrum (L, 0-2) 8 5 3 3 0 3 Aloy (W, 4-3) 9 7 2 2 0 7WP--Mangrum (4), Aloy (2). HBP--Miller 2, Mitchell, Takamori (by Mangrum), Circuit (by Aloy).Umpires--Daugherty (plate), Tomaszewski (first), Franceschiello (third).
T--1:56. A--1,431 (tickets issued 2,477).
