UH swaps victories
with Alabama

The Rainbows win 3-2 in the
nightcap of a doubleheader
after falling 9-5 earlier
in the day

The Hawaii Rainbows took advantage of three Alabama errors in the fourth inning and Luis Avila's RBI double in the sixth to split a day-night doubleheader with the Crimson Tide yesterday.

The Rainbows won the night game 3-2 at Murakami Stadium in front of 2,121 fans after blowing a 2-run lead in the ninth inning and dropping the afternoon contest 9-5.

Colby Summer and Rich Olsen, two right-handers coming off medical redshirt years, combined to pitch a six-hitter in the second game. Summer pitched his first game for UH since joining the program two years ago, having Tommy John surgery the next summer and rehabbing all last year. Olsen missed most of last year with a sore arm, but did not require surgery, just rest over the summer.

"I'm going to have a permanent smile on my face," said Summer, who pitched six innings. "I had a fastball, but I wasn't trying to blow it by anyone. I've been patient for a long time and I'm not going to injure the arm again by overthrowing. My best pitch was the changeup. I got my first strikeout on a changeup."

Olsen, who did not start throwing again until December, looked as good as he ever has according to UH coach Mike Trapasso.

"What we needed was our pitchers to come out and give us a chance to catch our breath in the second game and Colby and Rich did that," said Trapasso. "I'm proud of the poise we showed in the second game because we had Game 1 under control and imploded. That is unacceptable.

"We lost for three reasons. We really didn't take advantage of our chances early, left too many men on base (13) and didn't put the game away. We brought in our closer and he didn't throw first-pitch strikes and we gave up too many add-on runs. That really beats you."

Right-hander Justin Costi will start on the mound for Hawaii (2-1) in today's 1 p.m. series finale.

The Crimson Tide (1-2) scored first in the night game. Rocky Scelfo blooped a single to right with one out, took second on Matt Grooms' two-strike single to center and scored when Allen Rice doubled to left.

Three Alabama errors in the fourth inning allowed UH to take a 2-1 lead. UA starter Brent Carter hit Matt Inouye with a pitch and Rocky Russo reached on a throwing error by second baseman Rice. With one out, the runners successfully pulled a double steal. Inouye scored and Russo took third when Alabama catcher Chris Kirkland threw high into left field, where Groom bobbled the ball to allow Russo to come home.

Evan Bush doubled to lead off the Alabama sixth. The Crimson Tide then tied the score at 2-2 on Morrow Thomley's triple into the left-field corner. Summer stranded Thomley at third by getting two groundouts.

The 'Bows responded in the bottom of the inning on back-to-back, two-out doubles by Isaac Omura and Avila to take a 3-2 lead.

Avila, who was 4-for-8 for the day, said, "After my previous at-bat (a strikeout) coach told me to slow down my mechanics. I was looking for the changeup and I got it."

In the afternoon game, the Rainbows suffered through a frustrating, six-run Alabama ninth inning that erased a 5-3 UH lead.

Stephen Bryant and Steven Wright had limited the Crimson Tide to four hits through eight innings, but when pinch hitter Grooms started the ninth with a line double to the right-center-field fence, Trapasso went to the bullpen for closer Darrell Fisherbaugh.

The sophomore right-hander gave up an RBI triple to Zac Welch and walked Michael McCallister. Thomley reached first on a grounder to short, with Welch scoring the tying run as McCallister was forced out at second.

Pinch hitter Spender Pennington singled to left on a two-strike pitch. Fisherbaugh struck out Emeel Salem, but loaded the bases with a walk to Rice. UH third baseman Schafer Magana muffed a slow roller up the line off the bat of Kody Valverde as Scelfo, running for Pennington, scored the go-ahead run. Bush then lined a first-pitch, two-run single to right off Fisherbaugh.

The Rainbows took an early lead. In the first, Rocky Russo's two-out single to center field scored Greg Kish, who had singled to left-center and moved to second on a wild pitch.

Luis Avila's one-out, one-hop double off the right-center-field fence put him in scoring position and Magana followed with a double to left-center to easily score Avila in the second.

Alabama 9, Hawaii 5

Alabama	AB	R	H	BI	Hawaii	AB	R	H	BI
Salem cf	5	1	1	1	Spiers ss	4	1	1	0
Rice 2b	3	1	0	0	Kish lf	4	1	2	2
Valverde c	4	1	0	1	Inouye cf	4	0	1	0
Bush 3b	5	0	1	2	Russo dh	4	1	2	1
Scott dh	3	0	0	0	Castaneda rf	5	0	1	0
Grooms ph	2	1	2	1	Avila lb	5	2	3	1
Welch 1b	3	2	2	1	Magana 3b	3	0	1	1
McCallister rf	3	1	1	0	Wilder cf	2	0	0	0
Thomley lf	3	1	1	1
Iorg ss	2	0	0	1
Pennington ph	1	0	1	0
Scalfo pr	0	1	0	0
Totals	34	9	9	8	Totals	33	5	12	5
Alabama	000	030	006	--	9	9	0
Hawaii	110	110	010	--	5	12	2

E--Castaneda, Magana. DP--Alabama 1. LOB--Alabama 5, Hawaii 13. 2B--Grooms, Thomley, Spiers, Avila. 3B--Salem, Welch. SH--Thomley, Omura 2, Magana. SF--Iorg, Kish. SB--Rice. CS--Bush, Wilder

Alabama	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Belcher	3.2	8	3	3	1	1
Downs	3.2	4	2	2	2	5
Robertson (W, 1-0)	1.2	0	0	0	2	4
Hawaii	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Bryant	4.2	3	3	3	3	5
Wright	3.1	2	1	1	0	5
Fisherbaugh (L, 0-1)	0.2	3	5	1	2	1
Olsen	0.1	1	0	0	0	0

WP--Belcher, Wright. HBP--by Belcher (Wilder); by Robertson (Inouye); by Robertson (Magana).

T--3:29.

Hawaii 3, Alabama 2

Alabama	AB	R	H	BI	Hawaii	AB	R	H	BI
Grooms lf	3	0	1	0	Spiers ss	4	0	1	0
Rice 2b	4	0	1	1	Kish rf	4	0	0	0
Bush 3b	3	1	1	0	Inouye cf	2	1	0	0
Welch 1b	4	0	0	0	Russo dh	3	1	0	0
Thomley rf	4	0	1	1	Magana ph	1	0	0	0
Pennington dh	4	0	0	0	Omura 2b	4	1	1	0
Salem cf	4	0	0	0	Avila 1b	3	0	1	1
Scalfo ss	3	1	2	0	Hee 3b	3	0	1	0
Kirkland c	1	0	0	0	Lopez c	3	0	0	0
Ferazza c	1	0	0	0	Wilder lf	3	0	1	0
Totals	31	2	6	2	Totals	30	3	5	1
Alabama	001	001	000	--	2	6	5
Hawaii	000	201	00X	--	3	5	1

E--Grooms, Rice, Scalfo 2, Kirkland, Spiers. DP--Alabama 1, Hawaii 2. LOB--Alabama 5, Hawaii 5. 2B--Rice, Bush, Omura, Avila. 3B--Thomley, Spiers. SH--Kirkland, Inouye. SB--Inouye, Russo.

Alabama	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Carter (L, 0-1)	7.0	5	3	1	0	10
Copeland	1.0	0	0	0	0	0
Hawaii	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Summer (W, 1-0)	6.0	6	2	2	1	2
Olsen (S, 1)	3.0	0	0	0	0	5

HBP--by Summer (Bush); by Carter (Inouye).

T--2:26. A--2,760.