RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Jaziel Mendoza celebrated after scoring in the second inning yesterday at Murakami Stadium. The Rainbows beat Sacramento State 2-0 and will go for a sweep today.
Cayetano, Carlsen Hawaii stole a run in the second inning for an early lead, but it took the Rainbows seemingly forever to produced an insurance run last night.
shut out Hornets
Hawaii goes for the
sweep of Sacramento State
this afternoonBy Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comWhat 1,379 Murakami Stadium fans saw was a stellar pitching duel between UH left-hander Justin Cayetano and Sacramento State right-hander Chris Kinsey.
Kinsey was the tough-luck loser while Cayetano earned his first Rainbow win.
The 2-0 nonconference victory puts the Rainbows (5-1) in a position to sweep their first series of the season in today's finale, which starts at 1:05 p.m.
Cayetano, who redshirted last year after transferring from Washington State, did not have his full complement of pitches, but hurled three-hit ball for eight innings.
"My best pitch is my changeup, but I had no command tonight. I tried to adjust, but I kept throwing it in the dirt," the 1998 Mililani graduate said. "My fastball was the pitch tonight and I was able to go inside with it, pitch them backward."
Sacramento State coach John Smith went with an all right-hand hitting lineup, one a left-hander would normally attack by pitching to the outside of the plate. Cayetano didn't have that choice but survived by having success inside.
The Hornets (5-3) had a pair of two-out singles in the first inning, but the senior retired Jesse Schmidt on a pop-up. Everet Rincon's single to center in the fifth inning was the only other Hornet hit off Cayetano.
Jaziel Mendoza, making his first start for the Rainbows, swung easily on the first pitch he saw, producing a line single to right with two out in the second. He stole second and scored on Brian Bock's single up the middle.
Kinsey allowed five UH hits in the first three innings, but just one after that until Josh Green's double to center field in the eighth that scored Brent Cook with an insurance run. Cook had reached base on a two-out walk when Kinsey's breaking pitch was wide of the plate on a full count.
Green also had a full count.
"I saw a changeup, a curve ball, a fastball out (side), a curve out and a fastball up that I swung at and missed," said Green, who then spoiled two pitches, a fastball and a curve, which he fouled off his left foot. Then there was another curve from Kinsey.
"I just sat back and let the ball travel. I got my arms extended and hit the ball hard," said Green, who thought he might have his first UH home run, but settled for a one-hop, RBI double off the center-field fence a few feet to the right of the 385-foot sign.
Cook scored standing up and that made Clary Carlsen's relief job in the top of the ninth inning that much easier.
"It feels great to get that win," said Cayetano, who threw 116 pitches. "It was my dream growing up to pitch in Rainbow Stadium in front of my family and friends."
Said UH coach Mike Trapasso: "We will not send someone out to throw 130 pitches at this time of the year. The eighth inning was it for Justin."
Kinsey went 7 2/3 innings, walked one and struck out four. He had the Rainbows off balance much of the night.
"He was very difficult. He threw a cut fastball and we just had no answer for it," Trapasso said.
Carlsen fanned the first two Hornets in the ninth, gave up a single to Schmidt, but got Brian Blauser to hit into a fielder's choice to end the game.
Hawaii 2, Sacramento St. 0
SacSt AB R H BI Hawaii AB R H BI Reimer cf 3 0 0 0 Ponomarenko dh 4 0 0 0 Acha 3b 3 0 0 0 Omura 2b 4 0 0 0 Kinsey p/dh 4 0 1 0 Cook 3b 3 1 1 0 Olsen 1f 4 0 1 0 Green rf 4 0 2 1 Schmidt rf 3 0 1 0 Mendoza 1f 3 1 1 0 LeVier ss 2 0 0 0 Sansaver 1b 3 0 0 0 Wilson c 2 0 0 0 Bock c 3 0 1 1 Santiago ph/3b 1 0 0 0 Montgomery cf 3 0 0 0 Rincon 2b/ss 3 0 1 0 Finegan ss 3 0 2 0 Hinkle ph/2b 1 0 0 0 Cayetano p 0 0 0 0 Stelzriede p 0 0 0 0 Carlsen p 0 0 0 0 Blauser 1b 4 0 0 0 Totals 30 0 4 0 Totals 30 2 7 2 SacSt (5-3) 000 000 000 -- 0 4 1 Hawaii (5-1) 010 000 01X -- 2 7 1 E -- Blauser, Finegan. LOB -- SacSt 6, Hawaii 5. 2B -- Green, Finegan. SB -- Cook. CS -- Reimer.
SacSt IP H R ER BB SO Kinsey 7.2 7 2 2 1 4 Stelzriede 0.1 0 0 0 0 0
Hawaii IP H R ER BB SO Cayetano 8 3 0 0 3 6 Carlsen 1 1 0 0 0 2 S -- Carlsen (2). Umpires -- HP: Mike Evans, 1b: Keoki Torres, 3b: Ryan Arasat. T -- 2:17. A -- 1,379.
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