GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Brian Finegan dove into second with a stolen base ahead of the throw to Louisiana Tech shortstop Wade Robinson.
Senior day a
success for UHHawaii is assured of at
least a .500 season with an
11-1 win over Louisiana TechWAC standings
The Hawaii Rainbows celebrated senior day by winning their third consecutive Western Athletic Conference series at home with an 11-1 triumph over Louisiana Tech yesterday at Murakami Stadium.
The victory was the 28th of the season, assured the Rainbows of at least a .500 season with four road games left on the schedule and gave them a split of the six games with the Bulldogs.
Two freshman players the 'Bows will count on heavily in the future, right-hander Keahi Rawlins and catcher/outfielder Matt Inouye, made significant contributions in front of 1,226 fans yesterday.
"There was a lot of emotion before the game. The seniors were really great in helping me through my freshman year and I wanted to do something special for them," said Rawlins.
He pitched six strong innings, allowed six hits, walked two, fanned four and left with a 10-1 lead. Rawlins, who improved to 5-4, only allowed the Bulldogs (17-3-1, 9-18 WAC) to get the first batter on base in an inning twice.
Clary Carlsen, Justin Cayetano and Bryan Lee closed out the game, each with an inning of scoreless relief.
Leading 6-1 entering the bottom of the sixth, Hawaii (28-24, 9-18 WAC) put the game out of reach with a four-run outburst highlighted by Inouye's second home run of the season, a blast to left that cleared both fences.
When Inouye signed with UH he said he wanted to prove that he could be a Division I catcher. He has done that this season and also proved he can hit Division I pitching. He is the team's leading hitter with a .354 average.
"I changed my whole stance from high school to college and owe everything to coaches (Brian) Green and (Keith) Komeiji," said Inouye. "They convinced me I had to change to hit Division I pitching. I always thought the only way I could hit was from a crouch."
Green said, "Matt is such an athlete that after about three weeks he told us he thought he could handle the change."
Inouye now bats from a straight-up stance and has shown power, with eight doubles, two triples and two homers. He picked on a 1-1, hanging curve to launch into the road behind the stadium yesterday.
"It's great to know we will finish at least at .500 and to do it on senior day, Mother's Day," said UH coach Mike Trapasso. "These kids have the program headed in the right direction and have laid the foundation for the future."
The Rainbows put a pair of runs on the scoreboard with one down in the first inning.
Consecutive singles by Andrew Sansaver, Brent Cook and Jaziel Mendoza brought Sansaver around with the first run.
On Inouye's bouncer, Louisiana Tech third baseman Kyle Spangler threw the ball into right field trying to start a double play at second, allowing Cook to score.
Josh Green sparked a two-run second inning with a line single to right after fouling off two pitches with a full count. He continued to second when right fielder Jeff Walker booted the ball.
Kevin Gilbride ripped the first pitch from Bulldog starter Mitch Walker into the right-field corner for a run-scoring double. One out later, Sansaver's single through the hole at short scored Gilbride to up the UH lead to 4-0.
Hawaii added the fifth run in the third on what seemed like a straightforward play but ended up costing the Rainbows two outs instead of one. Cook and Mendoza walked to start the inning and Inouye's perfect bunt single up the third-base line loaded the bases.
Isaac Omura then sent a sinking liner to left that was deep enough to be a sacrifice fly. Cook did score on the play, but Jeremy Alford dropped the ball in left. However, he recovered in time to get a forceout at third and Spangler fired to second to get a forceout there and a double play.
Louisiana Tech managed a run in the fourth. Wade Robinson started the inning with a line double to right. He moved to third on a ground out and scored on Spangler's sacrifice fly to left.
The Rainbows re-established the five-run differential in the fifth when they loaded the bases on a walk to Cook and consecutive hit batters. Brian Bock's ground ball up the middle was knocked down by Tech second baseman Brandon Haygood in short center field but went for an RBI single when he could not make a play at any base.
The 'Bows take this week off for final exams, then leave on the final road trip next Monday.
Hawaii 11, Louisiana Tech 1
LaTech AB R H BI Hawaii AB R H BI Haygood 2b 4 0 1 0 Finegan ss 5 1 2 1 Haddox ph 1 0 0 0 Sansaver 1b 5 1 2 1 Brandon cf 4 0 0 0 Cook 3b 2 4 2 1 Dodson ph 1 0 1 0 Magana ph3b 1 0 0 0 Walker rf 3 0 1 0 Mendoza lf 3 1 2 1 Sabatini lf 1 0 0 0 Inouye cfc 3 1 2 3 Tabor dh 3 0 0 0 Jackson phc 1 0 0 0 Allen ph 1 0 0 0 Omura 2b 3 0 0 1 Robinson ss 4 1 1 0 Bock c 3 0 1 1 Humphreys 1b 4 0 2 0 Guillen phcf 1 1 1 0 Spangler 3b 2 0 2 1 Green rf 4 1 1 0 Alford lfrf 3 0 1 0 Gilbride dh 4 1 1 1 Boyce c 4 0 0 0 Total 35 1 9 1 Total 35 11 14 10
Louisiana Tech 000 100 000 -- 1 9 3 Hawaii 221 014 10x -- 11 14 1 E -- Walker, Spangler, Alford, Magana. DP-- Tech 2, Hawaii 1. LOB -- Tech 11, Hawaii 6. 2B-- Walker (8), Robinson (11), Guillen (1), Gilbride (1). HR -- Inouye (2). SH -- Omura. SF -- Spangler. SB-- Finegan (5).
Louisiana Tech IP H R ER BB SO Tucker L, 4-5 1 2/3 5 4 3 0 2 Schneider 2 2/3 2 2 2 3 1 Herron 3 2/3 7 5 5 0 4
Hawaii IP H R ER BB SO Rawlins W, 5-4 6 6 1 1 2 4 Carlsen 1 0 0 0 0 0 Cayetano 1 2 0 0 0 1 Lee 1 1 0 0 0 0 HBP -- by Rawlins (Alford); by Schneider (Mendoza); by Herron (Inouye).
Umpires -- HP: Ron Ridd, 1B: Gus Rodriguez, 3B: Jim LeBeau. T --2:41. A -- 1,226.
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WAC standings
WAC games Overall W L Pct. GB W L Rice 21 3 .875 -- 43 8 Nevada 16 7 .696 4 1/2 29 21 Fresno State 11 13 .458 10 26 26 San Jose State 8 15 .348 12 1/2 23 28 Hawaii 9 18 .333 13 1/2 28 24 x-Louisiana Tech 9 18 .333 13 1/2 17 32 x-also has one nonconference tie
Yesterday (Saturday)
Hawaii 11, Louisiana Tech 1
Fresno State 3, San Jose State 2
Nevada 8, Rice 7 (10 innings)
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