TEMPE, Ariz. » It's not often a pitcher adds a fourth pitch to his repertoire midway through a game.

Matt Sisto's success yesterday can partly be credited to a pitch he said he hasn't thrown in two weeks.

“;Coach (Mike Trapasso) asked me if I could throw my slider in the fifth inning and I said, 'Sure, why not?' “; Sisto said. “;I hadn't thrown it in a long time, but I had a good feel for it.”;

The sophomore right-hander is generally a three-pitch guy, working a breaking ball in with his fastball and changeup. He went with the slider in the fifth after going through the Toreros' batting order twice, and struck out the side.

He retired 11 of the last 12 batters he faced, handing a 3-2 lead over to closer Lenny Linsky in the eighth inning.

“;That was big for us for Matt to go out there and pitch like that,”; Trapasso said. “;He's the type of guy you want to throw against San Diego because he doesn't make many mistakes.”;

Sisto has been UH's best pitcher down the stretch. He's 2-1 in his last five games and has given up eight runs in his last 29 innings since a 1-0 shutout win over Nevada on May 1.

Sisto has been UH's No. 3 starter in the rotation, but got the nod to open the NCAA tournament to allow Josh Slaats to get an extra day's rest.

“;It almost doesn't matter who throws against who and when they throw, because if you're going to do well in a regional, every starter has to give you a quality start,”; Trapasso said.

San Diego coach Rich Hill said the decision played a big part in UH's win.

“;Sisto has been (UH's) hottest pitcher of late and coach Trapasso really deserves a lot of credit for starting him this game (and) going with the hot hand,”; Hill said.

KITAMURA'S GOLDEN GLOVE

Hawaii freshman Pi'ikea Kitamura came to Hawaii heavily hyped for his defensive prowess.

He backed it up yesterday, making a play worthy of a top-10 nominee on ESPN's “;SportsCenter.”;

With a man on first and nobody out in the sixth, Zach Walters hit a pop-up that had a 50-50 chance of going out of play.

Kitamura made his way to the railing of the San Diego dugout and reached out as far as he could. He snow-coned the ball before doing a 180-degree flip into the dugout.

“;In regionals, you've got to get the outs where you can get them,”; Kitamura said. “;I kind of got it on the heel of my glove and had to squeeze it and I think that's why I fell over. I definitely haven't done that before. It was pretty awesome.”;

MEADOR OUT FOR THE WEEKEND

San Diego played without two-time reigning West Coast Conference player of the year James Meador, who fractured his hand in batting practice this week.

Meador, who was named to the Louisville Slugger All-America third team on Thursday, was hitting .391 with seven homers, 62 RBIs and 22 doubles.

Junior Mike Ferraro started for Meador in right field and hit a two-run homer.

“;We especially wanted this for James Meador, who is our leader,”; Ferraro said.

SLAATS GETS HIS SHOT

Two days before the start of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, Slaats, a junior, will face his biggest test of the season.

An array of scouts is expected to be on hand to watch Slaats, who has been projected as high as a second-round pick. He'll face Arizona State, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament.

Slaats did not allow an earned run in four of his first six starts this season, but struggled in WAC play.

He made two starts in the WAC tournament, allowing two earned runs in 8 2/3 innings. He will be pitching on five days' rest.

The last UH pitcher to have as much pre-draft hype as Slaats is right-hander Steven Wright, who was taken in the second round of the 2006 draft by the Cleveland Indians.