Rainbows fall short of sweep in season- opening series

Coach Mike Trapasso will take it but hopes UH doesn't end up needing the win down the road

It's just one loss in a 56-game regular season. But the first defeat always leaves a certain kind of sting -- especially when it's by one run.

Santa Clara    Hawaii 3 2 Next Up vs. Georgia Southern Thursday

"You walk away at the end of the series with a bittersweet feeling because you win the first two," Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said yesterday, after Santa Clara edged his Rainbows, 3-2, in the finale of the three-game set. "Forty games into the season I'll look back at our first Sunday game and think of one we could've had."

A gathering of 1,168 at Les Murakami Stadium and the first TV audience of the season saw the spunky Broncos come back from a 2-1 deficit, riding reliever Jeff Lombard's slider and Carl Bacon's clutch bat in the late innings.

It was a day of frustration for the Rainbows, who left 13 runners on base. A lot of it was caused by the Santa Clara pitchers' toughness in tight spots. But UH also made its own misery by getting late starts -- in balls and strikes and to the bases.

The Rainbows either fell behind in the count or hit into an out on the first pitch of 22 of their 42 plate appearances.

That's part of why UH got a runner on base to start an inning just once. Nate Young led off the seventh with a walk, but was erased by a double play.

"We had a lot of opportunities, but they came a little late," said Brandon Haislet, who scored both of UH's runs after getting on with two-out hits. "We'd rather be on second and third with no outs or one out. Just move runners around, making quality outs. Instead, we were having to drive runners in without making an out."

Lombard struck out six in 2 1/3 innings, including the side in the ninth.

Justin Frash walked after pinch hitter Ryan Asato fanned looking. Haislet went down swinging, and Kris Sanchez singled Frash to third. But Lombard got Eli Christensen, also swinging, for the final out.

"A 6-hour flight going home wouldn't be fun going 0-3," Lombard said. "I stuck with my strength, which was my slider today. It was there pretty much when I needed it."

Lombard closed instead of Mark Willinsky (nine saves in 2006), who didn't make the trip.

As it did in Hawaii's two wins, Santa Clara scored first. Hawaii starter Matt Daly walked Evan LeBlanc and Ryan Conan doubled him home in the second inning.

UH tied it with an unearned run in the third. Christensen's first hit of the season, a single up the middle, knocked in Haislet, who had doubled off the left-field wall and advanced to third when Sanchez reached on first baseman Conan's error.

Bacon hit decisive RBI singles off UH reliever and loser Nick Rhodes (0-1).

In the sixth, LeBlanc singled on a grounder up the middle fielded by second baseman Young. LeBlanc advanced on a Rhodes balk. Bacon singled him home, on a sharply hit ball that Young knocked down but, again, he did not have a play.

Bacon's sharp drive to center scored Nathan Faulkner in the eighth for the go-ahead run.

"I hung a couple curveballs and they hit the ball pretty well there," said Rhodes, a left-handed JC transfer making his Rainbows debut. "I tip my cap to them. I made some good pitches, just need to make better ones when they really count."

Josh Schneider replaced Rhodes and got two outs with two pitches to end the eighth. The right-hander, another JC transfer in his first Hawaii game, then pitched a hitless ninth.

The Rainbows led 2-1 after Haislet put his speed to use in the fifth. He reached on a bunt single and stole second on a pitchout. Sanchez' third double of the series brought him home.

"Coach gave me the idea and I saw the opening and decided to take it," Haislet said. "(Third baseman Gabe Alcantar) was playing back all series and I hadn't put one down yet, so I thought now's a good time to make something happen."

Right-hander Daly went five innings and left with a 2-1 lead. The sophomore allowed six hits while striking out two and walking two.

"Got a lot more comfortable on the mound (in the middle innings), got into a good rhythm," Daly said. "Their two-strike approach is battle, battle, battle. Definitely a tough team in that sense."

Broncos right-handed starter Justin Kuehn went six innings, allowing one earned run on seven hits. He struck out two and walked two.

"The difference was a hit here, a hit there. There's a huge difference between losing two out of three and getting swept," Santa Clara coach Mark O'Brien said. "I was really proud with our guys dealing with adversity in a tough place to play."

Sanchez went 3-for-5 yesterday and 7-for-11 for the series.

"A good way to start the season, but tough way to end the weekend," Sanchez said. "It was real similar (to Saturday's 5-4 UH win), a real scrappy, one-run game. We got the big hits in clutch situations. Today they got a few more hits and made a few more pitches."

UH nominated Sanchez, a senior first baseman, and senior left-hander Ian Harrington (one run in 6 2/3 innings and the win in Friday's 8-1 victory) for WAC Player and Pitcher of the Week awards.

Hawaii hosts Georgia Southern, with games Thursday and Friday night starting at 6:35 and Saturday afternoon at 1:05.

"They'll be better than a lot of people here think they are," Trapasso said. "They've been to more regionals than Hawaii has in the past 10 years."

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