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Saturday, March 11, 2000
Pico helps
UH put an end to
six-game skid
against TCU
The Rainbows' baseball team
evens its record to 11-11 with a
6-2 win over the Horned FrogsRealAudio: 'Net broadcast Click Here
By Al Chase
Star-BulletinThere have not been many baseball games in Rory Pico's college career he can relish.
But last night's series opener at Rainbow Stadium is one the senior shortstop should file in his memory bank under "well done."
For the second consecutive game, the University of Hawaii Rainbows took advantage of a bases-loaded situation, something they rarely did earlier in the year.
Pico battled Texas Christian right-hander Shawn Thompson for 10 pitches, before clearing the bases with a bloop double down the left-field line.
That staked Rainbow left-hander Jamie Aloy to a 4-0, second-inning lead. It was enough for him to pitch Hawaii's second consecutive complete game.
The Rainbows' 6-2 Western Athletic Conference victory ended a six-game skid to the Horned Frogs dating back to 1998. The win also put the 'Bows at the .500 mark for the first time this season.
Pico, in his fourth season at UH, was playing in just his 51st career game last night. He has spent more time in the training room battling injuries than on the field.
In the big second inning, Pico worked the count full, then fouled off four Thompson pitches.
"They were throwing me everything away, fastball away, curve away," Pico said.
When he did hit the ball fair, it was a 150-foot flare over third base. The ball bounced high and past TCU left fielder Mark Hamilton allowing all three runners to score easily.
"It was a fastball tailing away. I just stuck my bat out, got lucky and got enough of the ball," Pico said.
The Horned Frogs (7-15 overall, 2-2 WAC) cut the UH lead in half in the top of the sixth.
Hawaii (11-11, 3-1) got the two runs back in the bottom of the inning. Pico delivered again with the bases full.
He hit a high chopper that left TCU first baseman Walter Olmstead no option other than making the unassisted play on Pico. Kenn Wakakuwa, who started the inning with a line double into the left-field corner, scored. Pinch-runner Nate Jackson scored moments later on a passed ball and Aloy had a four-run lead again.
"Rory can be pesky,'' said Rainbow coach Les Murakami.
"He hasn't played much, so you can't expect him to be that good at this stage, but he is an athlete.
"He made two great, two-strike hits. They were very big for us. I couldn't be happier for him, that he was the one offensively that drove in four runs."
Aloy experienced mild trouble in the first and fourth innings, but double plays bailed him out.
"I was thinking complete game from the first inning," Aloy said.
"I got tired about the seventh eighth inning and just worked my way through the game. I had to focus more pitch by pitch."
"His change-up was working great, tailing off, falling off the table," said Rainbow catcher Kramer Aoki. "We mixed it up all night, all the way to the knuckle ball. Jamie threw two, one for strikeout, one a dirt ball."
Aloy walked three and fanned six to improve his record to 3-1.
'Bow Bunts:
Sophomore center fielder Derek Honma was taken to the Kaiser Hospital emergency room after being hit in the face by a fastball in the second inning. X-rays showed a fractured left jaw. It is not known when he can return to the lineup. ... Left-hander Randon Ho is on the mound for UH tonight while right-hander Chris Bradshaw starts for the Horned Frogs. ... Aoki singled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to a team-best six games. ... Kenn Wakakuwa was 3-for-4, raising his average to .364. He leads the 'Bows with 11 multiple hit games. ... Last night's game was the 2,800th in 103 years of TCU baseball.
Rainbows 6, Horned Frogs 2
TCU AB R H BI HAWAII AB R H B1 Groomer 3b 4 0 0 0 Takamori rf 4 0 0 0 Moses 2b 4 1 3 0 Aoki c 4 0 1 0 Hamilton lf 2 1 1 1 Martines lf 4 0 0 0 Price c 4 0 2 1 Kimura 1b 4 0 1 0 Bates rf 4 0 0 0 Wakakuwa 2b 4 2 3 0 Macha ss 3 0 0 0 Scalabrini 3b 3 0 0 0 Wooley dh 3 0 0 0 Bock dh 3 2 2 1 Reed ph 1 0 0 0 Jackson pr 0 0 0 0 Marshall cf 2 0 0 0 Honma cf 0 0 0 0 Olmstead 1b 3 0 0 0 Baker pr-cf 2 1 1 0 Pico ss 4 0 1 4 Totals 30 2 6 2 Totals 32 6 9 5
Texas Christian 000 002 000 - 2 6 0 Hawaii 040 002 000 - 6 9 0 E-none.
DP-UH 2 (Wakakuwa-Pico-Kimura). LOB-TCU 5, UH 7.
2B-Moses (6), Hamilton (4), Pico (1), Baker (1), Wakakuwa (2). SB-Moses (2), Takamori (9). CS-Hamilton (2), Wakakuwa (1).
Texas Christian
IP H R ER BB SO Thompson (L, 2-2) 6 7 6 5 4 6 Newton 2 2 0 0 0 1
Hawaii
IP H R ER BB SO Aloy (W, 3-1) 9 6 2 2 3 6 WP-Thompson (2), Newton (2). PB-Price (7). HBP-Honma (by Thompson), Hamilton (by Aloy).
Umpires-Ridd (plate), Tomaszewski (first), Daugherty (third). T-2:24. A-1,103.
WAC STANDINGS
Conference Overall Team W L Pct. W L Pct. Fresno State 5 1 .833 18 5 .783 Hawaii 3 1 .750 11 11 .500 San Jose State 3 3 .500 12 5 .706 Texas Christian 2 2 .500 7 15 .318 Rice 3 5 .375 9 13 .409 Hawaii-Hilo 2 6 .250 11 16 .407 Yesterday's results
Hawaii 6, Texas Christian 2
Hawaii-Hilo 7, Rice 6
Fresno State 13, Indiana State 5
San Jose State 10, Pacific 3Today's games
Texas Christian at Hawaii, 6:35 p.m.
Rice at Hawaii-Hilo, noon, at Kona
Creighton at Fresno State
San Jose State at Pacific (2)Tomorrow's games
Texas Christian at Hawaii, 3:05 p.m.
Pacific at San Jose State
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
