Monday, March 15, 1999

Spartans
sweep ’Bows

The UH baseball team falls
to San Jose State and is 0-6 on
the road in the WAC

Star-Bulletin staff

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- One bad inning cost Hawaii yesterday as San Jose State sent the Rainbows reeling to their sixth consecutive Western Athletic Conference road defeat of the season.

The 'Bows had scratched out a 2-0 lead after four innings against Spartan starter Vince LaCorte, a junior right-hander who entered the game with an 0.79 earned run average.

Dusty Bergman, making his first start of 1999 for UH in place on the injured Troy Yoshimasu, had limited San Jose State to two hits through five innings, but ran into trouble when he walked the leadoff batter in the sixth.

Three hits and two walks later, the Spartans had scored three runs and LaCorte made the one-run lead stand up for his fourth victory of the season. Mike Wright singled in two teammates on a 3-1 pitch and Ryan Brucker brought home the game winner on a 3-2 pitch.

San Jose State (15-9-1, 6-0 WAC), riding an eight-game winning streak, is in sole possession of first place in the conference. Hawaii (15-9, 2-7) is 5-1/2 games out of first place and heads up the bottom five teams in the 11-member league. Only the top six teams qualify for the WAC tournament in May.

The Rainbows' first run came in the third when Sean Takamori walked, took second on Michael Dartt's single and scored on Jamie Aloy's single.

Hawaii scored an unearned run in the fourth. Kenn Wakakuwa walked, took second on a wild pitch and came home when the Spartans' Brucker misplayed Matt Wheeler's fly ball in center field.

Once LaCorte, who struck out eight and walked just one, got the 3-2 lead, he held Hawaii to two harmless singles over the last four innings.

Dartt, Aloy and Scooter Martines each had two singles for the 'Bows.

However, Takamori's hitting streak ended at 10 games yesterday when he went 0-for-4.

The Rainbows return home to play Fresno State (12-15, 1-5) in a three-game WAC series this weekend before jumping right into the 24th Rainbow Easter Tournament next Monday.

Spartans 3, Rainbows 2

Hawaii						San Jose State
		ab	r	h	bi			ab	r	h	bi
Takamori cf	4	1	0	0	Brucker cf	4	0	2	1
Dartt 2b	4	0	2	0	Ruiz dh		4	0	0	0
Aloy rf		4	0	2	1	Duncan rf	3	0	0	0
Martines dh-lf	4	0	2	0	Tognetti 3b	3	1	0	0
Nakano lf/dh	4	0	0	0	Rouse ss	3	1	1	0
Wakakuwa c	3	1	0	0	Douglass lf	3	1	1	0
Hansen 1b	4	0	1	0	Wright c	4	0	1	2
Wheeler 3b	4	0	0	0	Winterberg 1b	4	0	0	0
Miller ss	3	0	0	0	Patchett 2b	3	0	1	0
Childers p-ph	1	0	1	0
	Totals	35	2	8	1		Totals	31	3	6	3

Hawaii	001	100	000--2
San Jose State	000	003	00x--3

E--Hansen (1), Miller (6), Brucker (1), Tognetti (6). DP--UH 1 (Hansen-Miller-Jones), SJS 1 (Rouse-Patchett-Winterberg). LOB--UH 8, SJS 9.

2B--Brucker (3), Douglass (4).

			IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Bergman (L, 0-1)	5-1/3	4	3	3	4	4
Jones			1-2/3	2	0	0	1	1
Childers		1	0	0	0	0	0
LaCorte (W, 4-1)	9	8	2	1	1	8

Jones pitched to one batter in the eighth inning.

WP--LaCorte (2). HBP--Wakakuwa (by LaCorte).

Umpires--Williamson (plate), Burleson (first), Samuels (third).

T--2:44. A--473.

WAC

		Conference			Overall
		W	L	Pct.	GB	W	L	Pct.
San Jose St.	6	0	1.000	--	15	9	.620
Rice		5	1	.833	1	22	5	.815
Texas Christian	5	1	.833	1	11	11	.500
San Diego St.	4	2	.667	2	14	12	.538
Nevada-LV	4	2	.667	2	10	15	.400
Brigham Young	5	4	.556	2-1/2	10	13	.435
Hawaii		2	7	.222	5-1/2	15	9	.625
Fresno St.	1	5	.167	5	12	15	.444
New Mexico	1	5	.167	5	10	16	.385
Utah		0	3	.000	4-1/2	12	11	.522
Air Force	0	3	.000	4-1/2	11	13	.458

UNM and SJSU played a nonconference tie game.

Yesterday's results
San Jose State 3, Hawaii 2
Air Force 14, Fairleigh Dickinson 8
Oral Roberts 20, Texas Christian 10
Rice 11, San Diego State 3