Rainbows feeling
robbed by Owls

The Hawaii Rainbows have lost some tough baseball games this season, but none more disappointing and hard to swallow than the 7-6, 12-inning defeat at the hands of No. 12 Rice yesterday in Houston.

The Owls scored the winning run with two outs on an infield hit by third-string catcher Lyndon Duplessis that scored Josh Rodriguez from third moments after the Rainbows thought they had picked him off. Duplessis was 0-for-6 this season.

UH catcher Esteban Lopez fired to third baseman Schafer Magana, who put the tag on Rodriguez before he got back to the bag, according to Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso, who had a good view from the 'Bows dugout on the third-base side of Reckling Park.

"He was picked off at third. We even had Rice fans who sat above our dugout in the stands come up to us in the parking lot and say Rodriguez was out," said Trapasso. "The umpire blows a call that costs us a game and I'm the one who gets run for it. (Trapasso was ejected).

"They squared to squeeze and the guy (Bobby Bramhall) bunted through the ball. Anytime they do that we come up ready to throw. Rodriguez was sleeping. I don't think he thought Esteban would throw."

Rodriguez, who tied the game at 6-6 with a solo homer off Rich Olsen in the seventh inning, had connected for a one-out triple into the right-field corner in the 12th off Ricky Bauer, UH's fifth pitcher.

Clay Reichenbach was intentionally walked. Bauer fanned pinch hitter Bramhall for the second out. Duplessis then grounded a 3-1 pitch in the hole that left Rainbow shortstop Joe Spiers with no play.

"It's a shame the game had to end that way. It was a great game. Our guys battled for 12 innings and I'm very proud of them. I guess that guy (third-base umpire David Wiley) can't be questioned because he is just too good," said Trapasso.

The 'Bows could find themselves pitching-thin in today's series finale. Trapasso wasn't sure if Colby Summer or Bauer would start. Relievers Steven Wright and Darrell Fisherbaugh and possibly Olsen are done for the series. Wright had to replace Fisherbaugh, who experienced tightness in the back of his right shoulder, on an emergency basis to start the ninth inning.

"The shoulder had bothered him on a couple of pitches the inning before," said Trapasso.

Hawaii (26-26 overall, 13-13 WAC) squandered a bases-loaded situation in the first when Rice starter Eddie Degerman fanned Adam Roberts to end the inning.

Matt Inouye's leadoff homer and a bases-loaded wild pitch by Degerman that sent Lopez home gave UH a 2-0 lead in the second. However, Degerman escaped further trouble by striking out Nate Thurber with runners on second and third.

The Owls (37-17, 17-9) scored one run in the second and took a 3-2 lead in the third on Adam Hale's two-out, two-run double to right-center field.

Isaac Omura's two-run single in the fourth put UH ahead 4-3, but Rice tied the score in the fifth on a single to center by Rodriguez that brought Joe Savery home from second.

The Owls took a 5-4 lead in the sixth when Danny Lehmann walked and scored on Greg Buchanan's two-out triple to the alley in right-center.

The 'Bows regained the lead, 6-5, in the seventh after two were out. Roberts walked. Pinch runner Robbie Wilder stole second and Inouye was hit by a two-strike pitch. Lopez, with a two-strike count, brought both runners home with a double to deep center.

With two outs in the bottom of the inning, Rodriguez drilled an Olsen pitch over the left-field wall, tying the game at 6-6.

WAC standings

	Conference				Overall
	W	L	Pct.	GB	W	L
Rice	17	9	.654	--	37	17
Fresno State	15	11	.577	2	29	26
Hawaii	13	13	.500	4	26	26
San Jose State*	12	14	.462	5	27	25
Nevada	12	14	.462	5	23	26
Louisiana Tech	9	17	.346	8	17	36

* -- San Jose St. has one nonconference tie

Yesterday
Rice 7, Hawaii 6 (12)
Nevada 11, San Jose State 3
Fresno State 13, Louisiana Tech 9
Today
Hawaii at Rice, 8 a.m. HST
Nevada at San Jose State
Louisiana Tech at Fresno State

Rice 7, Hawaii 6 (12 inn.)

Hawaii	AB	R	H	BI	Rice	AB	R	H	BI
Spiers ss	6	0	1	0	Henley cf	5	0	0	0
Ammon lf	4	1	1	1	Buchanan 2b	5	0	1	1
Omura 2b	3	0	1	1	Savery 1blf	3	2	1	0
Thurber dh	6	0	1	0	Rodgers dh1b	5	1	2	0
Magana 3b	4	0	0	0	Hale lfrf	4	0	1	2
Roberts 1b	3	0	0	0	Rodriguez ss	6	3	4	2
Wilder pr	0	1	0	0	Reichenback 3b	4	0	1	0
Avila 1b	1	0	0	0	Pendleton rfp	4	0	2	1
Inouye rf	5	2	2	1	Bell p	0	0	0	0
Lopez c	5	2	2	2	Bramhall ph	1	0	0	0
Dupree cf	4	0	0	0	Reagan c	1	0	0	0
					Lehmann phc	3	1	1	0
					Friday pr	0	0	0	0
					Duplessis c	1	0	1	1
Totals	41	6	8	5	Totals	42	7	14	7
Hawaii		020	200	200	000	--	6	8	2
Rice		012	011	100	001	--	7	14	1

E--Inouye 2 (6); Rodriguez (7). DP--Hawaii 2. LOB--Hawaii 13, Rice 12. 2B--Inouye (11); Lopez (5); Hale (9); Pendleton (10). 3B--Buchanan (2); Rodriguez (3). HR--Inouye (3); Rodriguez (8). SH--Spiers (8); Ammon (6); Dupree (8); Buchanan (5); Rodgers (1). SF--Pendleton (4). SB--Wilder (2); Inouye (10); Savery (6); Pendleton (3).

Hawaii	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Costi	4 2/3	7	4	4	5	0
Olsen	2	3	2	2	2	1
Fisherbaugh	1 1/3	0	0	0	0	3
Wright	3	2	0	0	1	2
Bauer (L, 4-4)	2/3	2	1	1	1	2
Rice	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Degerman	3 2/3	4	4	4	5	3
St. Clair	4 2/3	3	2	2	3	2
Pendleton	1 2/3	1	0	0	1	1
Bell (W, 4-0)	2	0	0	0	0	3

WP--Pendleton (5); Degerman (9). HBP--by St. Clair (Ammon); by St. Clair (Inouye). BK--St. Clair (2).
Umpires--Bob Charmo (home), John DeLuca (first), David Wiley (third).
T--4:12. A--2,676.