[ RAINBOW BASEBALL ]
RONEN ZILBERMAN / RZILBERMAN@STARBULLETIN.COM
UH's Schafer Magana turned a double play yesterday.
Rainbows finish off
sweep of Florida
InternationalHawaii tallies four runs in the
bottom of the fourth inning to
beat the Golden Panthers 7-3
The emphasis for the Hawaii Rainbows in closed practice sessions this past week was on staying focused and being competitive for the full nine innings of each game.
UH coach Mike Trapasso felt his players made significant strides in both areas. The result was a three-game sweep of the nonconference series against Florida International.
The Rainbows (4-5) rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning after the Golden Panthers (1-7) took a brief lead in the top of the inning en route to a 7-3 victory yesterday before 905 fans at Murakami Stadium.
"I think the thing, obviously, was we focused on toughness and competing, and one definite sign in doing that is when you answer when the other team scores," Trapasso said. "We did that all weekend and that's a mark of a team locked in. And when we scored, we generally followed up with a zero in the top of the next inning."
The 'Bows scored in 10 different innings (first through the eighth) during the series and allowed FIU to answer just once. The Golden Panthers took a lead twice in the top of an inning and immediately lost it when UH came to bat.
"We had three quality starts and gave up just two earned runs (by the starting pitchers) all weekend," Trapasso said.
It took Hawaii time to get started yesterday as FIU left-hander Jon Banke retired the first six Rainbows in order, but walked Nate Thurber to start the third inning.
Greg Kish looped a two-strike pitch into right-center field that turned into a double when the high hop went over right fielder Brian Aragon's head, Thurber moving to third. After Robbie Wilder was hit by a pitch, loading the bases, Brian Finegan's sacrifice fly scored Thurber.
The Golden Panthers took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on Aragon's two-run homer over the right-field wall off UH starter Clary Carlsen. Adrian Casanova, on base with a one-out walk, scored ahead of Aragon.
Those earned runs were the first allowed by a UH starting pitcher in 17 1/3 innings in the series.
RONEN ZILBERMAN / RZILBERMAN@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Nathan Thurber celebrated with teammates after hiting a three-run homer yesterday against Florida International.
The Rainbows answered with their own power in the bottom of the inning as Thurber turned on a 1-2 pitch down the middle and planted the ball in the pine trees beyond the left-field fence for a three-run dinger. On board were Creighton Kahoali'i, who started the inning with a single to center, and Andrew Sansaver, who walked.
It was the second homer in as many games for Thurber who transferred from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and had not played in six months when he joined the team at semester break.
"The biggest transition was not playing for so long. Here the pitching is more consistent. They get curves and changeups over for strikes," said Thurber, who is slowly finding his groove at the plate.
"Here is so electric in the stadium. Here you get hits and people cheer. In junior college we're lucky to have a hundred people watching. The homer came on a hanging split-finger. I saw it in his glove. It was see it, hit it. I'm a strong believer in myself and when I get 50 at-bats, I'll be just fine."
Kish then singled to right-center and moved to third on Schafer Magana's sacrifice bunt when Casanova, the FIU catcher, threw the ball into foul territory down the right-field line. Wilder's single to center scored Kish for a 5-2 UH lead.
Kahoali'i also started the fifth by getting hit by the first pitch from reliever Derek Antelo. Sansaver sacrificed Kahoali'i to second. He went to third on Thurber's single to right and scored on Magana's two-out single to center.
Hawaii upped its advantage to five runs in the sixth when Matt Inouye drew his second free pass of the game and came around to score on Josh Green's double to center.
Carlsen, a senior right-hander, pitched seven innings to get his first win of the year and conceded he was not sharp.
"I haven't had much the last two weeks. I just threw enough strikes (62 out of 96 pitches) to keep the ball in play," said Carlsen. "I don't know how the outfielders got to some of those balls."
Carlsen also credited his infield -- Kahoali'i at third, Finegan at short, Magana at second and Sansaver at first -- for their excellent defense.
Note: The Rainbows executed four successful sacrifice bunts yesterday, a season high. The two times they were not successful, Kish delivered a two-strike double and Thurber smacked his homer.
Hawaii 7, Florida International 3
E--Casanova (3); Finegan 2 (4). DP--Hawai'i 1. LOB--FIU 7, Hawaii 10. 2B--Rivera (4); Green (1); Kish (2). HR--Aragon (1); Thurber (2). HBP--Lehmann; Diaz 2; Wilder; Kahoali'i. SH--Finegan (2); Sansaver (4); Magana (1). SF--Finegan (1). SB--Diaz (2).
FIU AB R H BI Hawaii AB R H BI Rivera ss 5 1 1 0 Wilder cf 4 0 1 1 Lehmann dh 3 0 2 1 Finegan ss 3 0 0 1 Lopez 1b 4 0 0 0 Inouye c 3 1 0 0 Skellenger dh 4 0 1 0 Green rf 5 0 1 1 Casanova c 3 1 1 0 Kahoali'i 3b 4 2 1 0 Aragon rf 4 1 1 2 Sansaver 1b 2 1 0 0 Diaz cf 1 0 0 0 Thurber dh 3 2 2 3 Otero lf 3 0 0 0 Kish lf 3 1 2 0 Jacobs ph 1 0 0 0 Magana 2b 3 0 2 1 Davila 2b 4 0 0 0 Totals 32 3 6 3 Totals 30 7 9 7 FIU (1-7) 000 200 100 -- 3 6 1 Hawaii (4-5) 001 411 00x -- 7 9 2
WP--Banke (1). HBP--by Carlsen (Lehmann); by Banke (Wilder); by Antelo (Kahoali'i); by Carlsen (Diaz); by McDowell (Diaz). PB--Inouye (1). Umpires--Don Greman (home), Keoki Torres (first), Gary Montalbo (third). T--2:47. A--905.
FIU IP H R ER BB SO Banke (L, 0-1) 3.0 5 5 5 3 1 Antelo 2.1 3 2 2 1 0 Calderon 2.2 1 0 0 1 5 Hawaii IP H R ER BB SO Carlsen (W, 1-2) 7.0 6 3 2 2 2 McDowell 2.0 0 0 0 0 0
