Rainbows bat around
3 times

LAS CRUCES, N.M. » This was a game only the winning coach could like. (Well, OK, the many guys who fattened their batting averages probably didn't mind, either).

Hawaii    NMSU 21 6 Next Up at New Mexico State, 2, today

Hawaii scored a season high in runs last night in pulling away from New Mexico State 21-6 at Askew Field.

Rainbows coach Mike Trapasso liked it, but he didn't really enjoy it. The Aggies led 4-2 until UH exploded over the last three innings.

"The reality is it was not a good situation we put ourselves in initially," Trapasso said. "Only one stat mattered, to get the win.

"I am proud of the way they turned it on.

"But we have to be better than that. To score two in the first six and 19 in the last three is ridiculous."

Hawaii sent 10 batters to the plate in the seventh, 16 in the eighth, and nine in the ninth, scoring five, 10 and four. UH rapped out 22 hits, with Vinnie Catricala getting four of them.

The Aggies helped the visitors with 11 walks and three errors. The top of the eighth took 40 minutes to complete.

Catricala nearly got pulled in the sixth when he was caught stealing third to end the inning with UH still down 4-2. After that misadventure, Catricala singled in the seventh and eighth, driving in two runs.

"Vinnie had a nice game. At the plate," Trapasso said of the designated hitter.

Kris Sanchez hit his ninth homer for Hawaii.

UH improved to 9-7 in the Western Athletic Conference and 28-17 overall. New Mexico State is 4-12 and 19-25.

Matt Daly (4-1) won in relief for the Rainbows. Starter Dylan Smith (3-4) absorbed the loss for the Aggies.

The teams were originally scheduled to conclude the series with single games today and tomorrow, but the coaches agreed to play a doubleheader today because of the strong possibility of storms tomorrow. Both games will be nine innings.

Mark Rodrigues started for Hawaii, but allowed seven hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings.

Daly, who Trapasso had been considering as a starter for today, pitched 2 1/3 hitless and scoreless innings. Ian Harrington and Josh Schneider will start today.

"Probably in that order," Trapasso said.

Trapasso said the game was also a positive in that no one got hurt late in the sloppy affair.

"Sanchez has a sore leg, so he was one of the first I took out. But he'll be OK."

Jon Hee, Kevin Macdonald and Eli Christensen all had three hits for the Rainbows. Macdonald drove in four runs. Hee, Macdonald and Christensen scored four times each.