HILO >> The Hawaii and Hawaii-Hilo baseball teams battled for more than four hours at Francis Wong Stadium last night, trading leads and big innings only to have Mother Nature halt the proceedings. Rain halts ’Bows
and Vulcans in 12thStaff and wire services
The rain started in the 11th inning and with two out in the bottom of the 12th, home plate umpire Keoki Torres called for the infield tarp.
The game was tied at 9 at that point with Vulcan right fielder Darren Chu at the plate with a full count.
Twenty minutes later, Torres decided it was best to suspend the game and complete it today at 5 p.m., prior to the regularly scheduled game between the teams.
The teams parried with one-run frames through the first four innings, with Hawaii-Hilo tying the score at 3-all on Daniel Rhodes' RBI double in the bottom of the third.
The Rainbows broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the fifth inning when Lane Nogawa led off with a single to center. After Hilo starter Jason Castro retired the next two 'Bows, Derek Honma slammed a drive to right-center field for a run-scoring double and a 4-3 lead.
However, the Vulcans took a 6-4 lead and knocked UH starter Bryan Lee out of the game in the bottom of the inning.
Darren Chu just missed a home run when he opened the inning with a double high off the left-field fence. Lee fanned Johnny Dudoit, but gave up a run-scoring single to center on a 1-2 pitch to Nalei Sooto, who took second on the throw to the plate.
William Quaglieri replaced Lee, got Keola Park on a grounder, but Chad Agustin ripped a one-strike pitch just inside the first base bag for a run-scoring double. Ryan Hanohano followed with a single to center, scoring Agustin.
The Rainbows took advantage of the struggling Hilo bullpen to score five runs and take a 9-6 lead in the top of the sixth inning. Three of the runs scored on bases-loaded walks, another came home on a wild pitch and the fifth scored on a two-out fielding error by Rhodes, the Vulcan shortstop. The 'Bows sent 11 batters to the plate and the only hits were singles by Kevin Gilbride and Nogawa.
Quaglieri got through the sixth and seventh innings, but ran into serious trouble in the eighth when Kaliko Oligo singled on the the first pitch and moved to third on Chu's infield single up the third base line.
Dudoit, hitting .224 entering the game and hitless in his first four at bats, then pulled the Vulcans into a 9-9 tie with a home run over the left-field fence on a 1-1 pitch.
Matt Le Ducq relieved Quaglieri after Keola Park singled. Agustin greeted Le Ducq with a first-pitch single, but the senior left-hander induced pinch hitter Scott McLaughlin into an inning-ending double play. Le Ducq then retired 12 of the next 13 Vulcans when the rain forced a delay with two out in the bottom of the 12th inning.
Meanwhile, the Rainbows could do little against the Vulcans' sixth pitcher, junior right-hander Joel Zimmerman. He allowed just one hit from the seventh through the 11th innings, but left after Martines doubled down the left-field line with one out in the 12th inning.
Daniel Lockett, who had been the left fielder, came in and retired Cortland Wilson on a routine fly to center and Honma on a sinking liner to left that Doug Nassimbene, Lockett's replacement, grabbed with a nice sliding catch.
UH Athletics