Making errors against Rice is like donating money to a millionaire. Rice doesn’t need
Hawaii’s charityBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comThere's no doubt the Hawaii baseball team has improved from last season. But the Rainbows can't play the kind of defense they did last night and expect to compete with teams like the Owls.
UH committed three errors -- all leading to runs -- in its 9-2 loss at Les Murakami Stadium. The defensive miscues weren't the only reason for the lopsided defeat, but without the errors the Rainbows could have been in the contest.
Instead, from the first play UH was overly generous to the visitors from Houston, giving away outs to one of college baseball's elite teams.
Rice speedster Jeff Jorgensen hit a sharp comebacker to Justin Cayetano to lead off the game. The Rainbows' starting pitcher fielded it cleanly and had lots of time, but his errant throw got past first baseman Andrew Sansaver and Jorgensen cruised into second.
"I take the fault. A good start usually goes to a good game," Cayetano said. "For some reason, when I turned to throw it my arm felt like Jell-O. It was the wrong thing to do. We were taught to catch the ball and run toward first and flip it, not Hollywood it. That's the safest way to get the runner."
Cayetano paid for the miscue immediately, as Chris Kolkhorst drove in Jorgensen with a single three pitches later, and Kolkhorst scored later on a single by Paul Janish.
Two of Rice's four runs in the fifth were unearned. UH left fielder Brent Cook misplayed Austin Davis' single, and third baseman Rocky Russo booted a grounder off the bat of Craig Stansberry.
"That's a play I usually make," Russo said. "I'm not quite sure what happened."
Hawaii's only errorless games this year were the 4-2 exhibition victory against Matsusaka last Wednesday, and a 6-3 loss at Fresno State on March 7.
The Rainbows have made 29 errors in their 20 intercollegiate games this season.
"The defense obviously hurt us," Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said. "You give up a two-spot right off the bat that starts with the first batter, you never know what's going to happen because pitching sets the tone. That definitely started us off on the wrong foot."
Conversely, Rice has not made an error in the last five games.
"We're playing pretty good defense," Owls coach Wayne Graham said. "That's unusual, but it's not an aberration. They're just really a good defensive team. We happen to have a group that's good at defense."
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