HOUSTON >> The Hawaii Rainbows did not want to get swept by the Rice Owls a second time this season. They came out with purpose yesterday, but were betrayed by mistakes in the late innings. ’Bows come closer, but
Rice has the answerFrom staff and wire reports
"We made just enough mistakes to get beat by a very good club," said UH coach Mike Trapasso.
The last mistake, a fielding error by shortstop Julian Russell with one out in the 11th inning, set the stage for the Owls' third comeback of the game and produced a 7-6 Western Athletic Conference victory for the No. 3 team in the country.
Russell was unable to field Vincent Sinisi's sharp grounder cleanly, allowing the Rice first baseman to reach safely. With a 2-2 count on Hunter Brown, Rice coach Wayne Graham had Sinisi running, a good way to stay out of a double play if Brown hit a ground ball.
He didn't. Instead, the preseason WAC Player of the Year drove a Bryan Lee pitch into the right-center field alley and Sinisi circled the bases easily to give the Owls (35-8, 17-1 WAC) the series sweep before 2,653 fans at Recking Park.
"The ball was hit well and because it was hit well, Julian flinched and let the ball run up his arm," said Trapasso.
After the Owls had rallied from a 4-1 deficit with two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth for a 4-4, the Rainbows pushed across two runs in the top of the 10th for a 6-4 lead.
The Owls' only error of the game opened the door for Hawaii (14-27, 3-12), as Kevin Gilbride was safe when Sinisi couldn't handle his high chop toward first. Brian Bock blooped a single to left-center field and Russell beat out a bouncer over the mound to load the bases.
Gilbride scored and the other runners advanced on a passed ball. Brent Cook followed with a single to right to score Bock.
But Aaron Pribble, who had pitched well in relief of starter Ricky Bauer, walked Mike Lorsbach on a full count to begin the bottom of the 10th. Lorsbach went to second on a balk and scored on Paul Janish's double.
After Lee relieved Pribble, Jeff Blackinton sacrificed Janish to third. Janish then scored the tying run on Chris Kolkhurst's soft single to left.
Bauer left after 613 effective innings, his second solid performance in the road trip and fourth consecutive strong outing.
"Ricky is coming on. He is putting it together, starting to believe in himself," said Trapasso, "He left the game knowing he had held the No. 3 team in the country in check. It's very positive to see his improvement.
"I was proud of the way our players battled their butts off today. I'm very proud of the way they competed."
The Rainbows finish the trip with a 1-5 record. They resume WAC play Friday when Fresno State comes to Murakami Stadium for the first of three games.
WAC standings
Yesterday
Conference Overall W L Pct. GB W L Pct. Rice 17 1 .944 -- 35 8 .814 San Jose St. 11 6 .647 512 31 12 .721 Fresno St. 10 7 .588 612 22 20 .524 Nevada 4 10 .286 11 16 21 .434 LaTech 4 12 .250 12 17 23 .425 Hawaii 3 12 .200 1212 14 27 .341
Rice 7, Hawaii 6 (11 innings)
San Jose State 8, Louisiana Tech 5
Fresno State 4, Nevada 2
Rice 7, Hawaii 6
Hawaii AB R H BI Rice AB R H BI Nogawa 2b 6 0 2 0 Kolkhorst lf 5 1 1 1 Cook 3b 4 1 3 3 Davis cf 6 0 4 1 Omori 1b 6 1 2 0 Arnold 2b 6 1 1 0 Martines lf 6 0 3 2 Sinisi 1b 4 1 1 1 Montgomery cf/rf 5 0 0 0 Brown 3b 6 0 2 2 Wilson dh 5 0 0 0 Bubela dh 2 1 1 0 Gilbride rf 4 1 1 0 Cruz ph/dh 2 0 0 0 Bock c 4 2 2 0 Lorsbach rf 4 1 3 1 Russell ss 4 1 2 0 Janish ss 5 2 2 1 Totals 44 6 15 5 Ruchti c 2 0 0 0 Blackinton ph/c 2 0 0 0 Totals 44 7 15 7
Hawaii 000 210 100 20 -- 6 15 4 Rice 010 000 210 21 -- 7 15 1 Note: 1 out, 1 runner LOB when the game ended. E -- Nogawa; Cook; Russell 2; Sinisi. DP -- UH 3; Rice 1. LOB -- UH 11; Rice 12. 2B -- Omori; Russell; Davis; Brown; Bubela; Janish. HBP -- Kolkhorst. SH -- Montgomery; Russell; Blackinton. SF -- Cook.
Hawaii IP H R ER BB SO Bauer 6.1 10 3 2 3 1 Pribble 2.2 3 3 3 1 2 Lee (L, 2-2) 1.1 2 1 0 0 0 Rice IP H R ER BB SO Crowder 6.1 9 4 4 1 6 Tribe 3.0 3 1 0 2 6 Aardsma (w, 6-1) 1.2 3 1 0 0 1 HBP -- by Bauer (Kolkhorst). BK -- Pribble 2. PB -- Blackinton. Umpires -- Bruce Siegel (plate), Dan Marple (first), Bob Charmo (third). T -- 3:21. A -- 2,653.
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