Rainbows end
skid at San JoseWAC standings
SAN JOSE, Calif. >> Who says catchers can't run?
Brian Bock legged it around the 270 feet from home plate to third base with a one-out triple in the ninth inning to set up the winning run for the Hawaii Rainbows last night.
Josh Green nullified San Jose State's drawn-in infield with a sacrifice fly to right-center field, scoring Bock with the game-winning run in UH's 5-4 Western Athletic Conference victory at Municipal Stadium.
The win ended four seasons of frustration for the Rainbows (29-25, 10-18) who had lost 12 consecutive games here and were 1-17 against the Spartans (24-31, 9-18) on the road since 1997.
"It's great for our program to snap that streak. It's just another monkey off our back and an indication our program is headed in the right direction," said UH coach Mike Trapasso.
San Jose State had a similar opportunity in the bottom of the ninth, also with one out. Jon Heuerman drove a ball to the right-center field gap. But, the relay from center fielder Matt Inouye to second baseman Isaac Omura to third baseman Brent Cook was in time to keep Heuerman from stretching his double into a triple.
"The relay was right there. He was out by about 5 feet. Whether Heuerman went on his own or not, we were grateful for that," said Trapasso.
Rainbow reliever Clary Carlson then struck out Anthony Contreras to end the game.
The victory assures the Rainbows of a winning season and leaves them one win short of 30 victories, their final goal of the season. They also are tied for fourth place with Louisiana Tech, an 8-3 winner over Nevada, a half-game ahead of SJSU in the conference standings.
The Spartans jumped on UH starter Ricky Bauer for three runs in the first inning, with Markum King's two-run, opposite-field double on a two-strike count being the key blow.
UH responded to the Spartans' first-inning outburst with three runs in the top of the second inning on doubles by Jaziel Mendoza, Rocky Russo and Josh Green that brought in the first two runs. Green then took third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball.
The 'Bows took a 5-4 lead in the fifth when Omura doubled to left-center field, moved to third on Brian Finegan's fly ball to right and scored on Andrew Sansaver's groundout.
Bauer settled down after the first and pitched three-hit ball until the eighth, when Jordan Bergstrom's one-out homer tied the score at 4-4.
Right-hander Chris George starts for UH today against right-hander Matt Durkin, whom Trapasso considers the second-best pitcher in the conference.
Hawaii 5, San Jose State 4
Hawaii AB R H BI SJSU AB R H BI Finegan ss 4 0 1 0 Pierson 2b 4 1 2 0 Sansaver 1b 3 0 0 1 Frandsen 3b 2 1 0 0 Cook 3b 4 0 0 0 Bergstrom 1b 3 1 1 1 Mendoza lf 4 1 3 0 King lf 4 1 2 2 Russo dh 4 0 1 1 Bates dh 3 0 3 1 Inouye cf 4 1 1 0 Bautista c 4 0 0 0 Bock c 4 1 1 0 Corrick cf 4 0 0 0 Green rf 3 1 1 2 Heuerman rf 4 0 1 0 Omura 2b 3 1 1 0 Contreras ss 4 0 0 0 Total 33 5 9 4 Total 32 4 9 4
Hawaii 030 010 001 -- 5 9 0 SJSU 300 000 010 -- 4 9 0 DP-- Hawaii 1. LOB -- Hawaii 6; SJSU 5. 2B-- Mendoza (9); Russo (9); Inouye (9); Green (11); Omura (10); King (8); Bates (8); Heuerman (7); 3B -- Bock (1); Pierson (1). HR -- Bergstrom (3). HBP -- Frandsen 2; Bates. SH -- Sansaver (13); Bergstrom (4). SF -- Green (5). SB -- Inouye (4). CS -- Inouye (5).
Hawaii IP H R ER BB SO Bauer 7 2/3 8 4 4 0 3 Carlsen W, 3-3 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 2
San Jose State IP H R ER BB SO Cabral 5 6 4 3 1 1 Dewing L, 3-2 3 1/3 3 1 1 0 2 Amaya 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 WP -- Cabral (2). HBP -- by Bauer (Frandsen); by Bauer (Frandsen); by Carlson (Bates). PB -- Bautista (4). Umpires -- HP: Ted Kovach, 1B: R. Franceschiello, 3B: Rich Padilla. T --2:38. A -- 647.
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WAC standings
WAC games Overall W L Pct. GB W L Rice 23 5 .821 -- 46 10 Nevada 17 10 .630 5 1/2 30 24 Fresno State 14 14 .500 9 30 27 Hawaii 10 18 .357 13 29 25 x-Louisiana Tech 10 18 .357 13 18 32 San Jose State 9 18 .333 13 1/2 24 31 x-also has one nonconference tie
Yesterday
Hawaii 5, San Jose State 4
Fresno State 2, Rice 1
Louisiana Tech 8, Nevada 3Today
Hawaii at San Jose State, 10 a.m.
Fresno State at Rice
Nevada at Louisiana TechTomorrow
Hawaii at San Jose State, 9 a.m.
Fresno State at Rice
Nevada at Louisiana TechEnd regular season
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