Masterpiece on the mound

Rhodes gives Hawaii another dominant pitching effort

STORY SUMMARY »

Jayson Kramer got Erik Wetzel to ground out with runners at second and third in the top of the ninth inning to give Hawaii its second straight shutout of Fresno State, 2-0, last night at Les Murakami Stadium.

HAWAII: 2 Fresno st.: 0 NEXT UP vs. Fresno State today

The back-to-back shutouts are the first for the Rainbows under coach Mike Trapasso. Hawaii last did it to kick off the 1999 season when it beat UCLA 6-0 and 3-0.

Starter Nicholas Rhodes lasted 8 2/3 innings and struck out a career-high 11 before being replaced by Kramer.

Brandon Haislet provided all of the offense on one swing in the fourth. The senior center fielder took a pitch the opposite way for a two-run homer over the right-field fence off of Bulldogs starter Justin Wilson.

Wilson lasted 7 1/3 innings and allowed two runs on five hits while striking out a career-high nine and walking four.

He took the loss to fall to 1-3 for the season, while the win was the first for Rhodes, who is now 1-2.

The four-game series will wrap up today with a doubleheader beginning at 1:05 p.m. Josh Slaats will start the first game, while Trapasso is unsure who will take the mound in the finale.

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The start of the conference season brought out the best in the Hawaii pitching staff.

Senior Nick Rhodes struck out 11 in 8 2/3 innings and Brandon Haislet's two-run homer was all the offense UH needed in last night's 2-0 win over Fresno State at Les Murakami Stadium. It was the second consecutive shutout for the Rainbows pitchers, and Rhodes has thrown 14 2/3 scoreless innings against the Bulldogs.

A crowd of 1,668 got tense in the ninth inning as Fresno State had the tying run reach second base with two outs. Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso decided to go with Jayson Kramer to face the Bulldogs' best batter, and Kramer responded by getting Erik Wetzel to ground out to shortstop Nate Young to end the game.

"When I went out there, (Rhodes) was done and he really was done going into the ninth," Trapasso said. "It was big for (Kramer). I don't know if he's been in that type of situation in his career and he did a great job."

A night after Jared Alexander tossed a four-hit shutout, Rhodes was equally sharp. He allowed two hits and two walks and faced three batters over the minimum in a game that lasted only 2 hours and 15 minutes.

"Trying to follow Jared in his shoes is a pretty big thing to do," Rhodes said. "I found a rhythm early and that was the difference. I was getting ahead of the hitters and was able to use that curveball."

Rhodes struck out seven of the first 11 batters he faced and was perfect until Wetzel's single with two outs in the fourth. He established a career high with his 10th strikeout in the fifth inning and faced the minimum 18 batters through six.

"He throws well under these lights at home," Trapasso said. "We need him to stay fresh for us. He was suffering from dead arm last weekend after his first start, where we overused him a little bit."

Rhodes went all nine innings and threw 120 pitches in his only other home start this season.

The Rainbows (9-13, 2-0 WAC) handed the two-time defending conference champions their third straight loss. Hawaii has blanked Fresno State (8-12, 0-2) in the last three meetings between the two. The back-to-back shutouts are Hawaii's first in WAC play since doing it against Wyoming in 1992.

In the last regular-season game of 2007, Rhodes started and pitched six shutout innings against Fresno State, with Tyler Davis getting the win in a 1-0 outcome.

While it's easy to get caught up in the back-to-back dominant pitching performances from Alexander and Rhodes, Trapasso warns there are still 30 games left in conference play.

"You can't be satisfied until the weekend is over," Trapasso said. "I'd feel a lot better if it was last year and we were playing in a three-game series."

The Rainbows took the first two games against San Francisco in their only other four-game set this season and wound up losing the last two to earn a split.

All the momentum gained from the last two games will be for naught if the Rainbows can't finish the series strong.

"We can't forget this is the defending champs," Trapasso cautioned. "They could come out here and thrash us in the next two games if we don't play with the same energy and toughness we have the last two nights."

Haislet gave Rhodes a two-run lead in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out shot over the fence in right field for a home run. Haislet's second homer of the season came on a 3-1 pitch that stayed just left of the foul pole to put the Rainbows up 2-0.

"I got ahead of the count and was just looking to be aggressive and stay in the middle and drive the ball," Haislet said. "I hit it hard and good things happen."

WAC Standings

	Conference	Overall
	W	L	Pct.		GB	W-L
Nevada	2	0	1.000		--	10-8
Hawaii	2	0	1.000		--	9-13
New Mexico State	2	1	.667		1/2	8-10
San Jose State	4	3	.571		1/2	13-7
Sacramento State	1	3	.250		1 1/2	5-12
Fresno State	0	2	.000		2	8-12
Louisiana Tech	0	2	.000		2	13-8

Yesterday

Hawaii 2, Fresno State 0

Nevada 14, Louisiana Tech 3

New Mexico State 12, San Jose State 1 (game 1)

San Jose State 10, New Mexico State 8 (game 2)

Gonzaga 4, Sacramento State 3

Today

Fresno State at Hawaii (2), 1:05 p.m., Les Murakami Stadium

Louisiana Tech at Nevada (2)

San Jose State at New Mexico State

Gonzaga at Sacramento State

Tomorrow

Gonzaga at Sacramento State

Hawaii 2, Fresno State 0

FSU	AB	R	H	BI	Hawaii	AB	R	H	BI
Muno ss	3	0	0	0	Hee 2b	3	0	1	0
Hedstrom cf	4	0	1	0	Young ss	4	0	0	0
Wetzel 2b	4	0	1	0	Myers dh	4	0	0	0
Susdorf lf	3	0	0	0	Catricala 3b	4	0	0	0
Ahmady 1b	3	0	0	0	Van Doornum rf	2	1	1	0
Detwiler rf	3	0	0	0	Haislet cf	3	1	1	2
Hom dh	2	0	0	0	Macdonald 1b	2	0	0	0
Mendonca 3b	3	0	0	0	Hernandez c	3	0	1	0
Grubb c	3	0	0	0	Montplaisir lf	3	0	1	0
Soares pr	0	0	0	0
Totals	28	0	2	0	Totals	28	2	5	2

Fresno State	000	000	000	--	0	2	0
Hawaii	000	200	00x	--	2	5	1

E--Young. DP--FSU 1; Hawaii 1. LOB--FSU 3; Hawaii 6. HR--Haislet. CS--Wetzel.

Fresno State	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Wilson (L, 2-3)	7 1/3	5	2	2	4	9
Burke	2/3	0	0	0	0	1
Hawaii	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Rhodes (W, 1-2)	8 2/3	2	0	0	2	11
Kramer	1/3	0	0	0	0	0

Umpires--Joe Burleson (Plate); Billy Speck (First); Billy Haze (Third).

T--2:15. A--1,668.