’Bows advance to WAC final

UH's starting pitching leads the way to a showdown with top-seeded Fresno State today

FRESNO, Calif. » The Hawaii Rainbows needed two solid outings from their starting pitchers and two victories to reach championship Sunday in the Western Athletic Conference postseason tournament.

They got both yesterday.

Ian Harrington pitched a complete game to defeat Louisiana Tech 8-2 in the afternoon and Mark Rodrigues held hot-hitting Nevada, the No. 4 seed, to six hits in an 11-2 win last night at Pete Beiden Field.

Hawaii (43-14, 3-1 tourney), the No. 2 seed, has to beat top-seeded Fresno State (42-16, 3-0) twice today to win the WAC title. The first game starts at 9 a.m. Hawaii time, with the second, if necessary, to follow at 1 p.m.

Junior right-hander Tyler Davis (2-1, 2.98 ERA) starts for the Rainbows.

Yesterday's wins greatly enhanced UH's chances of receiving an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament should Fresno State prevail today.

"I don't like to say anything is a lock, but I think the win over Nevada assured us of a bid no matter what happens tomorrow," said Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso.

"All day long we played well offensively and defensively and we got great pitching. If you had told me Ian would pitch a complete game and that Mark would go seven against a team like Nevada, I would have said you were kidding.

"We are still a little thin on pitching, but not as thin as we would have been without those two quality starts."

Rodrigues equaled his longest outing of the year set against UC Irvine on Feb. 12. He struck out a season-high six and walked two. Other than the runners who scored, the senior left-hander allowed just two other Wolf Pack baserunners to reach second.

The big guns offensively for the 'Bows were Derek DuPree, who was 4-for-10 in two games with six RBIs, Justin Frash, who was 5-for-7 with five RBIs, and Luis Avila, who was 4-for-10 with a pair of RBIs.

Hawaii grabbed a 6-0 lead after two innings against Nevada (26-28, 2-2) thanks in part to the wildness of Wolf Pack starter Matt Renfree, who walked six Rainbows.

Robbie Wilder walked to start the bottom of the first inning and came home on Frash's third home run of the season, a one-out, two-run shot over the right-center-field fence.

Then, with two out in the second, Renfree walked the bases full. DuPree, who admitted he should have been more patient after seeing three consecutive teammates walk, smashed a one-strike pitch over the right-field wall for a grand slam, his first home run of the season.

"I fouled off the first pitch, a fastball. The one I hit out was a changeup. Both pitches were over the plate," DuPree said.

The 'Bows added single runs in the third and fourth innings, providing Rodrigues with a comfortable margin.

Shawn Scobee spoiled the shutout with a solo homer to open the Nevada fourth.

Avila singled home two runs in the sixth. He scored on Jorge Franco's sacrifice fly in the eighth to close out the scoring.

Darrell Fisherbaugh finished the game with two innings of hitless relief.

Hawaii 8, Louisiana Tech 2

The Rainbows eliminated the Bulldogs (33-25, 1-2) behind Harrington's welcomed complete-game effort.

The left-hander did not give up a hit until Amos Ramon doubled to right-center field with one out in the fifth. Brian Rike then lined a ball off Harrington's left calf for an infield single as Ramon took third.

"It was a shot," Harrington said. "When Coach Trap came out, I told him I didn't need any practice pitches. We were on a roll and let's keep it going."

Harrington preserved the 4-0 lead by throwing out Joey McCarthy on a squeeze-bunt attempt and getting Mims Boyce to ground out unassisted to Avila at first base.

In the sixth, with runners at first and second, UH second baseman Jon Hee made a sprawling stop of Matt Lacy's hit bid and recovered in time to get the final out of the inning.

"After their first four hits, we realized they had started going the opposite, way so we started throwing more curveballs after that," Harrington said.

After LaTech scored its second run in the eighth and Ryan Hamilton singled to left with two out, Trapasso went out to talk to Harrington.

"Coach told me to just stay within myself and not overthrow. He told me to not think about finishing the game, but to just get the out."

Lacy flied out to right on Harrington's first pitch.

In the ninth, Harrington fanned two of the last three batters to keep the 'Bows alive with his second complete game of the season.

"We had to have that (complete game) or else we would be up the creek with our pen," Trapasso said. "Ian kept us as fresh as we can be in the pen. When you get a quality start, you win 98 percent of the time."

The Rainbows built their 4-0 lead after four innings on just four hits.

Wilder singled off WAC Freshman of the Year Jericho Jones to start the game, was sacrificed to second by DuPree, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Frash's groundout.

Frash later drove in Hee with a sacrifice fly to deep left in the third inning and a two-out single in the seventh. Esteban Lopez keyed a three-run ninth with a two-out, two-run single to center.

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