Alexander looks good in UH victory
POSTED: Monday, April 20, 2009
Hawaii capped its best pitching series of the year with an encouraging performance from senior Jared Alexander.
Alexander pitched into the sixth inning for the first time all season, allowing two runs on four hits while walking only one as Hawaii defeated Sacramento State 8-4 yesterday in front of a Les Murakami Stadium crowd of 2,164.
Kevin Macdonald hit two more home runs to give him four in the series as Hawaii (24-13, 7-4 Western Athletic Conference) took three of four from the Hornets (21-17, 2-6) to move into a tie with Nevada for first place in the WAC.
“;We really pitched well all four games and that was the key,”; Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said. “;Was definitely a step in the right direction for Jared.”;
All four Hawaii starters in the series pitched at least five innings, with none yielding more than two runs.
Alexander had only thrown five innings in a game once all season and had given up 24 runs in his last 13 innings entering yesterday's start.
He retired the side in four of his six innings and had a shutout going until the Hornets' Tim Wheeler hit a two-run homer in the sixth to pull the Hornets to 4-2.
His only walk came in the third, when he allowed two runners on base, but battled back to retire 10 of the next 11 batters he faced.
“;Definitely helps out my confidence a lot,”; Alexander said. “;Got to try to build off of it.”;
His performance came at a critical time, as this week was the first time Alexander wasn't penciled in as a sure-fire starter when healthy. Solid pitching performances from Jayson Kramer, Matt Sisto and Nate Klein in the series kept the bullpen fresh, allowing Alexander to get another start and pitch well to hopefully build his confidence.
“;Second and third inning he started falling into the same pattern he's been in the last month, where he's getting too tentative and really nibbling and getting behind,”; Trapasso said. “;I went out and told him he's pitching like he's afraid of contact. You can't do what he did for us last year and pitch that way.
“;He's way better than what he's giving himself credit for.”;
Hawaii finished the series giving up 10 runs to a Hornets ballclub that entered the series hitting .318 as a team. Wheeler finally got it going with two home runs yesterday, but up to that point, Hawaii's pitching slowed him down. Blake Crosby was held to five hits in the series and had his 18-game hitting streak snapped.
“;They were able to command both sides of the plate throughout the whole series,”; Sacramento State coach John Smith said. “;They did a good job on our Wheeler kid. They pitched him away and it took him until today to make an adjustment, but they really did a solid job.
“;And their middle of the order is as good of a three guys as I've seen in college baseball ever.”;
The 3-4-5 tandem of Vinnie Catricala, Macdonald and Kolten Wong came up big again yesterday, combining to go 7-for-13 with three homers and five RBIs. Wong came close to a fourth homer for the group, but his ball that went just over the fence in right field hit the top of a pole and bounced back into play for a double.
Catricala and Macdonald hit back-to-back homers in the third to put Hawaii up 4-0. It was Macdonald's second of the day, and fourth of the series, as he also went deep for a two-run shot in the first.
“;I just got lucky four times I guess,”; Macdonald said. “;That's baseball. Can't really say much about it.”;
For the series, the three combined to hit .465 (20-for-43) with seven homers, 12 runs and 16 RBIs.
“;The middle of the order was swinging well all weekend,”; Trapasso said. “;We need to get the rest of the guys going a little more.”;
The Rainbows leave today for Tempe, Ariz., to face No. 4 Arizona State tomorrow. They'll follow that with a four-game series at New Mexico State beginning Friday.
WAC Standings
| Conference | Overall | |||||
| W | L | Pct. | GB | W | L | |
| Hawaii | 7 | 4 | .636 | — | 24 | 13 |
| Nevada | 7 | 4 | .636 | — | 18 | 19 |
| San Jose State | 5 | 3 | .625 | 1/2 | 26 | 11 |
| New Mexico State | 7 | 5 | .583 | 1/2 | 32 | 8 |
| Louisiana Tech | 5 | 7 | .417 | 2 1/2 | 18 | 16 |
| Sacramento State | 2 | 6 | .250 | 3 1/2 | 21 | 17 |
| Fresno State | 2 | 7 | .222 | 4 | 18 | 20 |
Yesterday
Hawaii 8, Sacramento State 4
Louisiana Tech 14, Fresno State 12
Louisiana Tech 14, Fresno State 6
Nevada 8, New Mexico State 7
San Jose State 5, UC Santa Barbara 4
Tomorrow
Hawaii at Arizona State, 4 p.m. Hawaii time
San Jose State at San Francisco
Pacific University at Nevada
Friday
Hawaii at New Mexico State, 2 p.m. Hawaii time
Louisiana Tech at Sacramento State
Fresno State at San Jose State
Cal State Bakersfield at Nevada
Hawaii 8, Sacramento State 4
| Sac. St. | AB | R | H | BI | Hawaii | AB | R | H | BI |
| Martinez 2b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Garcia ss | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Roth rf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Morford 2b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Wheeler cf | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | Catricala 3b | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Crosby 1b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Macdonald 1b | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Powers 3b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Wong cf | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Crouch lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Hernandez c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Espana dh | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Van Doornum dh | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Hottman c | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Chevalier dh | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Chung ss | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | Montplaisir lf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals | 33 | 4 | 8 | 4 | Totals | 32 | 8 | 10 | 7 |
| SAC. ST. | 000 | 002 | 002 | — | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| HAWAII | 202 | 001 | 03X | — | 8 | 10 | 0 |
E—Hottman, Paine. DP—Sacramento State 2, Hawaii 1. LOB—Sacramento State 3, Hawaii 9. 2B—Crosby, Wong 2, Van Doornum, Montplaisir. HR—Wheeler 2, Catricala, Macdonald 2. SH—Chevalier. SB—Chung. CS—Crosby.
| Sacramento St. | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Elrod (L, 4-2) | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Buchta | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Paine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Taku | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hawaii | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Alexander (W, 1-1) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Slaats | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Linsky | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
WP—Elrod, Paine. HBP—Catricala (by Buchta), Macdonald (by Buchta). Balk—Paine. PB—Hottman.
Umpires—Tony Norris (Plate); Ted Kovach (First); Greg Charles (Third).
T—2:49. A—2,164.
