UH beats LaTech
in WAC opener

The Rainbows rebound from
a pair of losses to Winthrop

Hawaii overcame two early deficits to defeat Louisiana Tech 8-6 in the Western Athletic Conference baseball opener for both teams in front of 1,090 fans last night at Les Murakami Stadium.

Steven Wright made his first start of the season, struggled with his command for two innings, but ended up pitching eight innings, walking one and striking out 11.

"We weren't real strong in the bullpen, so it was good that Steven gave us eight innings," said Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso.

"In the first two innings he wasn't pitching the way he did earlier in the year, but he settled into a groove. He set the pace, pitched like his hair was on fire and went until he ran out of gas.

"Steven made the right pitch at the right time. Their hitters made a good approach and hit a lot of good pitches."

Wright said he just didn't have it in the first two innings.

"Every time I made a mistake, left the ball up, they made contact," said Wright, who threw 40 of his 125 pitches in the first two innings. "From the third on, my arm felt better, I started hitting my spots and my tempo was better. They are a good hitting team and had the same approach, but they were swinging through (the pitches) when I hit my spots."

Hawaii (13-10, 1-0) scored a welcomed insurance run in the eighth when Joe Spiers reached on a throwing error by LaTech first baseman Albie Goulder. Spiers took second on a wild pitch, stole third and scored on Luis Avila's bases-loaded bloop single to center.

LaTech threatened in the ninth when reliever Guy McDowell walked the first batter and hit the second. Adam Cobb then hit into a double play and Ben Tabor was called out on strikes.

"We were lucky in the ninth. They took a gamble and it worked out for us, plain and simple, when they hit into the double play," said Trapasso.

The Bulldogs (7-15, 0-1) used a ground single to right by Brandon Haygood, a line single to right by Tabor and a bloop single off the bat handle to left by Gil Laird to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

The Rainbows retaliated with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Spiers grounded a double down the left-field line, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Erik Ammon's infield single behind second.

Ammon took second on a wild pitch. Isaac Omura walked. Ammon was thrown out at third trying to advance on a pitch in the dirt. Matt Inouye singled to left-center field, moving Omura to third, from where he scored on a wild pitch.

UH loaded the bases on walks to Rocky Russo and Greg Kish. That ended the night for LaTech starter Mitch Tucker, a senior right-hander who pitched a complete-game shutout against UH last year.

Reliever Amos Ramon prevented further damage by getting Jose Castaneda to hit an easy fly to right.

LaTech came back in the top of the second with three runs. Wright hit leadoff batter Mims Boyce with a two-strike pitch. Goulder singled to center and Gary Holik walked, loading the bases.

Haygood's sacrifice fly to deep center scored Boyce and allowed Goulder to take third. Cobb singled to right, driving in Goulder and moving Holik to third, from where he scored on Tabor's sacrifice fly to left for a 4-2 lead.

UH retook the lead 5-4 in the third with a rally that began with Omura's double to the alley in right-center. Avila's bouncer through the hole to left moved Omura to third. Inouye lined a single to center, scoring Omura and advancing Avila to third.

Inouye went to second when Cobb bobbled the ball in center and scored on Russo's one-hop double off the wall in left.

Omura's third home run in the last six games, a high drive over both walls in right, upped the UH lead to 7-4 in the fourth. It followed a leadoff double to right by Ammon.

The Bulldogs used an off-the-handle flare by Haygood to draw to within one, 7-6, in the sixth. His hit followed three balls that never left the infield. Brandon Hudson singled on a ball that Wright deflected with his bare hand toward short. Boyce reached first on a Baltimore chop off the plate that Omura fielded behind the mound, but had no play. The runner advanced on Goulder's grounder to first.

Hawaii 8, Louisiana Tech 6

LaTech	AB	R	H	BI	Hawaii	AB	R	H	BI
Haygood 2b	3	1	2	3	Spiers ss	5	2	1	0
Cobb cf	5	0	1	1	Ammon c	4	1	2	1
Tabor dh	4	0	1	1	Omura 2b	3	3	2	2
Hamilton 3b	4	0	1	0	Avila 1b	5	1	2	1
Laird rf	4	0	1	1	Inouye cf	5	1	3	1
Hudson lf	3	0	1	0	Russo dh	3	0	2	2
ÊSantiago pr/lf	0	1	0	0	Kish lf	2	0	0	0
ÊBascle ph/lf	1	0	0	0	Castaneda rf	3	0	0	0
Boyce c	3	2	1	0	Magana 3b	4	0	0	0
Goulder 1b	4	1	2	0	ÊHee 3b	0	0	0	0
Holik ss	2	1	0	0
ÊMcCarthy ph	0	0	0	0
Totals	33	6	10	6	Totals	34	8	12	7
LaTech	130	002	000		--	6	10	3
Hawaii	203	200	01x		--	8	12	0

E--Cobb; Hamilton; Goulder. DP--LaTech 1, Hawaii 1. LOB--LaTech 6, Hawaii 9. 2B--Goulder; Spiers; Ammon; Omura; Russo. HR--Omura. SH--Castaneda. SF--Haygood; Tabor. SB--Spiers. CS--Hamilton; Spiers; Ammon.

LaTech	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Tucker	2/3	3	2	2	3	0
Ramon (L, 1-2)	5	6	5	5	1	4
Love	1 2/3	2	1	0	0	1
Alverson	2/3	1	0	0	2	0
Hawaii	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Wright (W, 3-2)	8	10	6	6	1	11
McDowell (S, 2)	1	0	0	0	1	1

WP--Tucker 3; Love. HBP--by Wright (Boyce); by McDowell (Haygood).
Umpires--Ron Ridd (home), Kelly Gonzales (first), Kendal Snyder (third).
T--2:55. A--1,090.