Rainbows see hope in loss
POSTED: Monday, April 26, 2010
Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso hasn't felt this good about his team since the last time they finished a road trip.
“;It may sound funny, but I told my guys after the game I am more optimistic and positive about our club right now than I've been in a month,”; he said.
An eight-run sixth-inning propelled Louisiana Tech to a 14-6 victory over the Rainbows yesterday in the finale of a four-game series at J.C. Love Field in Ruston, La.
Hawaii (21-20, 4-8 Western Athletic Conference) split against the Bulldogs (21-18, 6-6) to wrap up a season-long nine-game road trip on which it finished 4-5.
Hawaii is 7-7 overall on the road, but now gets to stay home for the next three weeks as it faces Nevada and New Mexico State in its final two series at Les Murakami Stadium.
“;The energy and the toughness we played with (Saturday) and (yesterday) are the most we've had since we got back from our last road trip,”; Trapasso said. “;I saw glimpses of us coming out of this funk offensively and we got (Nate) Klein coming back as a starter with Josh (Slaats) and Sam (Spangler) that I think is going to make us the deepest pitching team down the stretch and in the WAC tournament.”;
Klein (1-1) made his first start since March 12 yesterday, and although he took the loss, allowing seven hits and nine runs in 5 1/3 innings, he extended himself to 76 pitches and had three runs credited to his line after he left the game in the sixth.
“;He just got tired in the sixth and honestly, three of the first four runs he gave up they shouldn't have got,”; Trapasso said. “;They gave (LaTech) hits, but really (Kevin) Macdonald made two errors at first.”;
The lead changed hands three times before the Bulldogs exploded in the sixth. Klein allowed an RBI single to Clint Stubbs that tied the game at six and left with the bases loaded and one out. Zach Gallagher came on in relief and LaTech hammered him for four runs in 1/3 of an inning. Ashton Hughes greeted Gallagher with a pinch-hit RBI single and Mark Threlkeld delivered the deciding blow with a two-out grand slam two batters later.
Threlkeld finished with two homers and five RBIs and Alex Williams went 2-for-5 with a home runs and two RBIs as the Bulldogs managed 14 runs on 13 hits and only left three men on base.
Macdonald went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and Collin Bennett and Jeff Van Doornum also went deep for the Rainbows, who had at least 10 hits for the third time in the series.
Hawaii couldn't score off of Bulldogs reliever Dan Breazeale (1-0), who was a full-time position player in the fall. Earlier this year, Louisiana Tech coach Wade Simoneaux tried out some guys on the mound to help his depleted pitching staff and Breazeale stood out.
“;We had to have somebody step up on the mound and do what he did,”; Simoneaux said in regards to getting LaTech's third straight WAC series split. “;That's something we needed to finish off the series.”;
Six continues to be the magic number for the Rainbows, who fell to 9-19 when scoring six runs or less. Likewise, opposing teams are 14-2 against UH when scoring more than six runs.
LaTech topped that number in the sixth inning alone.
“;That inning was about Klein running out of gas and Gallagher pouring gas on a fire,”; Trapasso said.
Hawaii has 12 games left to climb out of the basement and earn a spot in next month's WAC tournament in Mesa, Ariz.
The Rainbows are a game behind Sacramento State and San Jose State and trail Nevada (22-15-1, 3-4-1) by 1 1/2 games. Hawaii hosts the Wolf Pack for a four-game set beginning on Friday.
WAC STANDINGS
| Conference | Overall | |||||
| W | L | T | Pct. | GB | Tot. | |
| New Mexico State | 9 | 2 | 1 | .792 | — | 31-12-1 |
| Fresno State | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 2 1/2 | 24-18 |
| Louisiana Tech | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 3 1/2 | 21-18 |
| Nevada | 3 | 4 | 1 | .438 | 4 | 22-15-1 |
| Sacramento State | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 4 1/2 | 14-22-1 |
| San Jose State | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 4 1/2 | 15-23 |
| Hawaii | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 5 1/2 | 21-20 |
Yesterday
Louisiana Tech 14, Hawaii 6
Fresno State 9, Nevada 3
New Mexico State 3, Sacramento State 0
San Jose State 4, Wichita State 3
LOUISIANA TECH 14, HAWAII 6
| Hawaii | AB | R | H | BI | La Tech | AB | R | H | BI |
| Roquemore lf | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | Roliard lf | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Kitamura 3b | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Threlkeld 3b | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Wong 2b | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Williams 1b | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Freitas dh | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Dageford rf | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Van Doornum rf | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | Ford 2b | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Bennett cf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Ewing c | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Garcia ss | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Stubbs cf | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Macdonald 1b | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Alvis dh | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Fujii c | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Terrasas ss | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Hughes ph/ss | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Totals | 36 | 6 | 10 | 6 | Totals | 37 | 14 | 13 | 13 |
| Hawaii | 031 | 110 | 000 | — | 6 | 10 | 1 |
| Louisiana tech | 221 | 008 | 01x | — | 14 | 13 | 4 |
E—Kitamura; Ewing, Hughes, Stubbs, Williams. LOB—Hawaii 8; Tech 3. 2b—Macdonald, Dageford, Roliard, Stubbs, Williams. HR—Bennett, Macdonald, Van Doornum; Threlkeld 2, Williams. SH—Fujii. SF—Terrasas. SB—Bennett.
| Hawaii | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Klein (L, 1-1) | 5 1/3 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 1 |
| Gallagher | 1/3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Moore | 1 1/3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Linsky | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Louisiana Tech | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Jefferson | 5 2/3 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Breazeale (W, 1-0) | 3 1/3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
WP—Jefferson.
Umpires—Ken Eldrige (Plate); Gus Rodriguez (First); David Rodgers (Third).
T—2:43. A—653.
