[ RAINBOW BASEBALL ]
Another Bulldog pitcher
stifles ’Bows
FRESNO, Calif. » Matt Garza pitched a game against Hawaii last night that was eerily similar to the one Louisiana Tech's Mitch Tucker threw at the Rainbows last Sunday afternoon.
Both right-handers shut out the Rainbows and allowed a stingy four hits.
Fresno State also took advantage of the same mistake UH starter Clary Carlsen made against LaTech last week -- a hit batter to start the eight inning.
The Bulldogs (18-25, 6-8) turned that break into a 2-0 Western Athletic Conference victory at Pete Beiden Field to even the three-game series at one win apiece.
"We had no offense. That sums it up," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "It was a situation where their guy (Garza) was very good, but I thought we were not tough. He stuck it to us and we let him do it."
Hawaii starter Stephen Bryant matched Garza pitch for pitch for seven innings. However, he hit DeAndre Miller, the Bulldogs' No. 9 hitter, with a one-ball pitch.
"The pitch was a strike, but the kid leans over the plate and sticks his elbow out there and the umpire lets him go to first base," Trapasso said.
Ryan Haag followed with a triple off the right-center-field wall, also on a one-ball pitch, to break the scoreless deadlock. He later scored on a single by Brandon Marcelli.
The Rainbows (24-14, 8-6 WAC) dropped into a second-place tie with Nevada, a 10-5 winner over San Jose State yesterday.
Hawaii had runners at first and second with one out in the first, but Garza retired Jaziel Mendoza on a pop to second and Creighton Kahoali'i on a fly to center. Those two batters would be the first of 18 consecutive Rainbows retired by the senior.
Hawaii would not get another base runner until Mendoza and Kahoali'i connected for back-to-back singles in the seventh that put runners at first and third with one out. Garza bore down and got Isaac Omura to pop up to the catcher on his first pitch and fanned Nate Thurber on a called third strike.
Garza, FSU's main closer with five saves, was making just his third start of the season. He threw 113 pitches in the complete game.
"Someone had to score and they were the first to crack it. Once they did we weren't going to come back," Trapasso said. "We had opportunities to scratch, but we didn't. We had too many lazy fly balls.
"If you are going to win and finish in the top half of the league standings and be a bubble team, someone has to go out and make a difference when you lose your top hitter (Greg Kish). Everyone was waiting for someone else to do that. We were not competitive."
Trapasso was a very unhappy coach last night.
The 'Bows can still win the series in today's finale and return home with a 3-1 record on their second road trip.
"It seems in most series we go into the Sunday game and it is the rubber game. The team that wins series wins the Sunday game. We'll find out tomorrow if we are Sunday tough," Trapasso said.
Carlsen (6-4) will be on the mound for UH today.
WAC standings
Conference All games W L Pct. GB W L Pct. Rice 16 1 .941 -- 33 7 .825 Hawaii 8 6 .571 6 1/2 24 14 .632 Nevada 8 6 .571 6 1/2 23 18 .561 Fresno St. 6 8 .429 8 1/2 18 25 .419 San Jose St. 6 14 .300 11 1/2 16 23 .413 LaTech 4 13 .235 12 13 30 .302 San Jose State has one non-conference tie.
Yesterday
Rice 7, Louisiana Tech 0
Nevada 10, San Jose State 5
Fresno State 2, Hawaii 0
Today
Rice at Louisiana Tech
Nevada at San Jose State
Hawaii at Fresno State, 10 a.m.
Fresno State 2, Hawaii 0
Hawaii AB R H BI FSU AB R H BI Finegan ss 4 0 1 0 Haag 2b 4 1 1 1 Sansaver 1b 3 0 0 0 Patrick ss 3 0 1 0 Inouye cf 3 0 0 0 Robnett dh/cf 2 0 1 0 Mendoza lf 4 0 2 0 Marcelli c 4 0 2 1 Kahoali'i c 4 0 1 0 Vitters 3b 4 0 1 0 Omura 2b 3 0 0 0 Esparza 1b 0 0 0 0 Thurber dh 3 0 0 0 Shannon pr 0 0 0 0 Green rf 3 0 0 0 Wilson 1b 1 0 0 0 Magana 3b 3 0 0 0 Moresi cf/rf 3 0 0 0 Moore rf 3 0 0 0 Miller lf 2 1 0 0 Totals 30 0 4 0 Totals 26 2 6 2 Hawaii 000 000 000 -- 0 4 0 FSU 000 000 02x -- 2 6 0 DP--Hawaii 1. LOB--Hawaii 5, FSU 7. 3B--Haag (2). HBP--Miller. SH--Sansaver (10), Esparza (1). SB--Robnett 2 (16), Marcelli (4), Moresi 2 (7). CS--Patrick (3), Moresi (3).
Hawaii IP H R ER BB SO Bryant (L, 5-3) 7.0 5 2 2 4 3 McDowell 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 FSU IP H R ER BB SO Garza (W, 3-2) 9.0 4 0 0 1 7 HBP--by Bryant (Miller). Umpires--Rick Saxton (home), Ken Bayne (first), Bill Speck (third). T--2:25. Tickets issued--2,565.