’Bows split another twinbill

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With injury concerns swirling around two of its top pitchers, the Rainbow baseball team put itself in position to win another series with a split of yesterday's doubleheader.

Hawaii    Sac. State 3-3 1-7 NEXT UP vs. Sac.State today

Hawaii took the first game against Sacramento State 3-1 behind a complete game from senior Nick Rhodes, who improved to 4-4 this season by tossing a six-hitter.

The Rainbows couldn't match that performance in the second game as Matt Daly dropped to 5-3 after allowing six runs in 4 2/3 innings as the Hornets prevailed 7-3.

Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said earlier in the week he was leaning toward starting Alex Bates in the third game of the series, but Bates still hasn't fully recovered from shoulder problems that have bothered him all season.

"He's still tender after last weekend and I'm not going to throw him (today) either," Trapasso said.

"He probably could go if we were forced into it, but with us not knowing what's going on with Jared (Alexander), I'm not going to force the issue with Bates because we can't lose both of those guys."

Alexander left Friday's game in the sixth inning with an injury to his pitching arm. He underwent an MRI yesterday and Trapasso said he expected to find out the results either late last night or early this morning.

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Hawaii baseball coach Mike Trapasso couldn't care less about his team's struggles in the second half of doubleheaders.

All that matters to him is winning each series, and the Rainbows can accomplish that for the fourth time in the last five weeks with a victory in today's finale at 1:05 p.m.

Nick Rhodes allowed one run over nine innings in his second complete game of the season and Vinnie Catricala went 3-for-4 with two RBIs to extend his hitting streak to 15 games as Hawaii took the opener of yesterday's twinbill against Sacramento State 3-1 at Les Murakami Stadium.

A turnstile crowd of 1,924 saw the 'Bows drop the second game 7-3 as Wes Oberlin blasted a three-run homer and David Flores went 4-for-5 with three runs scored to help the Hornets snap an eight-game losing streak.

"We got the first one and that's what counts," Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said. "We're in the position we want to be in to win the series."

The loss in Game 2 dropped Hawaii to 1-9 in the second game of doubleheaders and 0-11 in the third game of a series this year.

Trapasso had concerns going into the season with the new four-game series format about how his team would respond to playing an extra game every weekend.

The results haven't shown up on the scoreboard, but the Rainbows have won or split all but one WAC series this season and are 14-6 since being swept by the Hornets in Sacramento.

"This is as tough of a club you're going to find," Trapasso said.

"If we keep playing the way we have the whole month and lose the second game of every doubleheader, but win every series, I'm the happiest guy in the world."

Yesterday's split pulled Hawaii (23-25, 15-12 WAC) within two games of league-leading Fresno State (27-23, 15-8).

The Rainbows won the first game behind a dominant effort by Rhodes, who allowed six hits and struck out four while walking one. His only blemish came after a leadoff walk in the sixth resulted in the Hornets' only score of the game.

"Their left-hander threw a great ballgame," Sacramento State coach John Smith said. "He was a totally different guy than we saw in Sacramento. He was dialed in today and did a good job of keeping us in check."

After being held to one run in the first game, the Hornets jumped on the 'Bows early in Game 2. Hard singles by Taylor Martinez and Flores put runners on base for Oberlin, who jacked a three-run homer to left field off of Hawaii starter Matt Daly for a quick 3-0 lead.

"This park is as big as Yellowstone Park and not a lot of balls get out of here," Smith said. "It's always key when you can get on a team early. It pumps our guys up and kind of puts them in a little bit of a downer."

The Hornets added a run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Blair that scored Brent Hoffman. After Daly walked Hoffman with one out, Martinez hit what looked to be a double-play ball that hit the third base umpire in the leg, resulting in a hit instead of possibly two outs. A wild pitch moved Hoffman to third that enabled him to score on the sacrifice fly for a 4-0 advantage.

Trapasso didn't stick around much longer, as he was ejected in the fifth inning after arguing a foul ball call that killed another Rainbows double play. The Hornets had runners on first and second with nobody out when Oberlin hit a ground ball down the third-base line. Catricala fielded it and started a double play when home plate umpire Steve Corvi called the ball foul.

"I was trying to get something going on our end," Trapasso said. "I thought the ball was fair."

Both runners on base eventually scored as Daly walked Blake Crosby and Hoffman consecutively with the bases loaded to give the Hornets two more runs. Daly was chased after walking Hoffman for the third time in the game. He lasted 4 2/3 innings and gave up six runs on nine hits and five walks to take the loss.