Hornets catch up to Rainbows

SACRAMENTO, Calif. » Mike Trapasso knows Sacramento State will always battle.

So, the Hawaii baseball coach was scratching his head after yesterday's 8-5 loss at Hornet Field, wondering why his team didn't realize the same thing.

"I'm at a loss, I have no idea why we went into this game not expecting another dogfight," Trapasso said.

The evidence was certainly there. The Hornets fought back despite a Hawaii six-run second inning on Thursday and pecked away for single runs in six different innings on Friday. UH survived 9-6 and 12-9 tussles, but neither win was easy.

Yesterday, the toughness paid off for Sacramento State.

Two-out doubles by Tim Wheeler in the second and fourth innings plated three runs while the Rainbows were in the midst of 11 consecutive outs against Hornets starter Mick Joyce.

Wheeler went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and Joyce blanked Hawaii for the first five innings.

UH had a three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 24-12 and 5-4 in the Western Athletic Conference. Sacramento State is now 10-22 and 5-7 after salvaging the last of the three-game series.

Louisiana Tech and Fresno State are both 6-3 after winning yesterday, moving ahead of Hawaii atop the WAC standings.

Wheeler -- who was 4-for-4 on Friday -- made it seven hits in a row yesterday. His three run-producing hits from the No. 9 spot in the order helped stake the Hornets to a 6-1 lead after six innings.

Joyce allowed three runs and six hits in seven-plus innings. No one reached base off him from the second inning to the end of the fifth. Ten of the 11 outs were flyballs to the outfield.

"We slept-walked through the first five innings, and I have no explanation for that," Trapasso said.

UH's Kris Sanchez hit a two-run homer in the eighth off reliever Cyrus Sarraf, making it 8-5. But the Rainbows couldn't get anything else going and fell to 4-2 on the road this season.

It was the second homer in two days for Sanchez, who leads the Rainbows with seven for the season. Sanchez went 2-for-4 as UH had nine hits. Justin Frash also paired hits, and drove in Hawaii's first run with a sixth-inning sacrifice fly.

The Hornets got 14 hits off four Hawaii pitchers.

Rainbows starter Josh Schneider dropped to 3-2 after allowing four runs in four innings on seven hits.

"We didn't pitch well and we pitched bad all week," Trapasso said.

Hawaii plays a single game at Pacific on Tuesday before completing the road trip with a three-game series at Fresno State from Friday through Sunday.

Trapasso said yesterday he did not yet know who would pitch Tuesday's nonconference game.