Loss puts 'Bows deeper in WAC basement
POSTED: Monday, April 19, 2010
Just two weeks into the Western Athletic Conference baseball season, Hawaii already finds itself in survival mode.
Sacramento State took advantage of a Kevin Macdonald error to score five runs in the second inning and ran away with a 9-4 victory in the series finale yesterday at Hornet Field in Sacramento, Calif.
The loss dropped Hawaii (18-18, 2-6) a full 1 1/2 games behind Nevada in last place. The team with the worst conference record doesn't qualify for the WAC tournament in Mesa, Ariz., at the end of May.
“;We've dug ourselves a hole we have to climb out of,”; Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said. “;We just keep shooting ourselves in the foot.”;
The Rainbows were in a similar situation in 2008, going 2-6 to start league play after getting swept at Sacramento State. They bounced back by winning 11 of their next 14 league games and went on to finish second in the WAC.
The difference between then and now is Hawaii had eight more league games to make its comeback. This year, the Rainbows only play 24 league games, leaving them four series left to rise up from the bottom of the conference.
To do so, Hawaii will need to perform better in two-out situations. The Rainbows left 10 men on base and got nothing from the top of their lineup. Hawaii's 1-2 hitters went a combined 4-for-32 in the series.
“;We're making a habit of outhitting teams, but not winning games,”; Trapasso said. “;We're not making the plays we normally make, and every time we make an error, it costs us a couple of runs.”;
Jake Chilton capitalized on Macdonald's error in the second inning with a two-out, bases-clearing triple that put the Hornets up 5-1.
Zach Gallagher (3-3) was pulled after 1 2/3 innings and allowed five runs, but only one was earned.
Nate Klein and Blair Walters combined to hold the Hornets to four runs the rest of the game, but UH's offense failed to make a serious dent in Sacramento State's lead.
Kolten Wong had three hits and Greg Garcia went 3-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs before leaving the game in the eighth inning with an injury.
Garcia hurt his back running to first base on a ball that eventually rolled foul. Jesse Moore had to replace Garcia in the middle of the at-bat and eventually grounded out to second.
Trapasso said the extent of the injury was unknown, and wasn't sure if Garcia would play in tomorrow's game at Centenary.
It's not nearly as serious as the injury senior Christian Johnson suffered in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader.
Johnson dislocated his shoulder diving for a foul ball in right field and had an X-ray taken at a local hospital. He is scheduled to fly home tomorrow and Trapasso said he probably wouldn't fly someone back up to take his roster spot for next weekend's series at Louisiana Tech.
“;All they did (Saturday) was take an X-ray and pop (Johnson's) shoulder back in,”; Trapasso said. “;We're sending him home to get an MRI so we can take a look at the ligaments, especially his labrum, which is always in danger of being torn when you suffer an injury like that.”;
Jose Ramirez (1-2) allowed three runs in six innings to earn the victory for the Hornets (14-18-1, 3-1), who took three of four in the series to sit atop the WAC.
Klein allowed three runs on four hits with six strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings. It's the first time in more than a month that he threw more than 10 pitches in a game and could be back in the starting rotation as early as next week.
“;He was definitely rusty, but the stuff was there and that's a good sign,”; Trapasso said. “;The velocity was there. He was pain free and his slider was sharp.”;
Chase Koissian had a hit filling in for Johnson in right field and Sean Montplaisir was 2-for-2 and scored a run. Third baseman Pi'ikea Kitamura finished 0-for-4 and was 0-for-13 in the series.
WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
| W | L | T | Pct. | GB | Ovr. | |
| Sacramento St. | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | — | 14-18-1 |
| New Mexico St. | 4 | 2 | 1 | .643 | 1/2 | 26-12-1 |
| Fresno State | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 1 | 22-16 |
| Louisiana Tech | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 1 | 19-16 |
| San Jose State | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 1 1/2 | 14-20 |
| Nevada | 1 | 2 | 1 | .375 | 1 1/2 | 20-13-1 |
| Hawaii | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | 3 | 18-18 |
Yesterday
Sacramento State 9, Hawaii 4
New Mexico State 14, San Jose State 6
Fresno State 12, Louisiana Tech 2, 8 inn.
Nevada 4, Seattle University 1
SACRAMENTO STATE 9, HAWAII 4
| Hawaii | AB | R | H | BI | Sac State | AB | R | H | BI |
| Koissian rf | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Powers 1b | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Kitamura 3b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Chilton lf | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Chevalier ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ayers 3b | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wong 2b | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | Paine dh | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Freitas c | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Young ss | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Van Doornum dh | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Nunez rf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Garcia ss | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | McCarthy rf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Moore ph/ss | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mezzaneras cf | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Bennett cf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Miller 2b | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Macdonald 1b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Lamb c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Montplaisir lf | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| Roquemore ph | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Totals | 35 | 4 | 10 | 4 | Totals | 32 | 9 | 9 | 7 |
| Hawaii | 010 | 110 | 000 | — | 4 | 10 | 2 |
| Sacramento State | 052 | 110 | 00x | — | 9 | 9 | 0 |
E—Moore, Macdonald. DP—Hawaii 1; Sac State 2. LOB—Hawaii 9; Sac State 7. 2B—Wong 2, Van Doornum; Paine. 3B—Garcia; Chilton, Young. HR—Montplaisir. HBP—Kitamura; Miller, Nunez. SH—Lamb. SF—Powers. SB—Chilton, Mezzaneras.
| Hawaii | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | |
| Gallagher (L, 3-3) | 1 2/3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Klein | 2 1/3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | |
| Walters | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Sacramento State | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | |
| Ramirez (W, 1-2) | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| Chamberlain | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| Galvan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
WP—Galvan, Ramirez. HBP—by Gallagher (Nunez), by Walters (Miller); by Ramirez (Kitamura).
Umpires—Chris Thomas (Plate); Pat Riley (First); Rick Scarbery (Third). T—2:52. A—231.
