Santa Clara got to Hawaii’s ace on Thursday night.
Friday, the Rainbow Warriors returned the favor.
Hawaii jumped on Broncos right-hander Mitchell White for three runs in the first inning and never trailed in an 8-1 victory to even the series at Les Murakami Stadium at a game apiece.
Eric Ramirez went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs and Jacob Sheldon-Collins had three hits and scored twice for Hawaii (10-13), which bounced back from a disappointing opener on Thursday before a crowd of 1,295.
“I think that’s how we’re capable of playing,” Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said. “I just told the guys before the game you have to eliminate the fear of failure — eliminate the tension. We’re our own enemy in this whole thing right now because we’re pressing and I told them we’re not playing like the coaching staff knows we can.”
UH managed just six hits in a 3-1 loss on Thursday and had to take on Santa Clara’s No 1 guy on Friday.
The Broncos (9-11) saved White for Game 2 to pitch on normal days rest, but the redshirt sophomore finished with his worst outing of the season. His five innings and five strikeouts were both season lows and he gave up season highs of nine hits and five earned runs.
“We were getting ourselves into some good counts and were ready to hit,” said Ramirez, who doubled home two runs in the first. “We got our foot down, saw the ball and hit the ball.”
White entered the game with 24 hits allowed and 48 strikeouts in 332⁄3 innings and hadn’t given up an earned run in his last 17 innings.
Hawaii changed that in the first inning, nearly matching its entire hit total from the first game.
Matt LoCoco’s single got things going and Sheldon-Collins faked a bunt and then slashed a double down the left-field line to put runners at second and third.
Johnny Weeks brought in the first run with a single off the glove of Jake Brodt at first and Ramirez lined a 1-0 offering into right center for a two-run double to make it 3-0 before White recorded an out.
“Knowing you’re capable and executing are two different things and today we did because we went out there more aggressive and for whatever reason eliminated the fear of failure,” Trapasso said. “Being aggressive is something that we’ve lacked offensively and that definitely got us started and then ‘E-Ram’ gets up there and smokes one.”
Hawaii got an equally impressive performance on the mound, with starter Kyle Von Ruden logging Hawaii’s first nine-inning complete game in two years.
Von Ruden took a one-hitter into the sixth and gave up his only run on an RBI groundout, which ended a string of 151⁄3 consecutive scoreless innings.
The senior right-hander didn’t walk a batter and struck out five to improve to 5-1 with his fifth straight start of at least 72⁄3 innings.
“Losing last night left a chip on my shoulder and I wanted to go after these guys,” Von Ruden said. “You tag them with three on a guy who has a 1-something ERA and that’s a lot of pressure off your back because you come into this game thinking you’ll have to duel him out.”
White escaped the second inning when center fielder Kert Woods threw out Sheldon-Collins at the plate trying to score on Weeks’ single, but his pitch count was way up.
It caught up to him in the fifth inning when he plunked Alex Fitchett with a pitch to load the bases. Catcher Kekai Rios followed, shooting the first fastball offering from White back up the box for a two-run single to make it 5-0 Hawaii.
Ramirez added another RBI double in the sixth inning and Marcus Doi, who finished 2-for-5, singled home a run for a 7-1 lead.
Sophomore Chayce Ka‘aua, who missed the last 19 games with a broken finger, was in the lineup hitting sixth as the designated hitter and went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.
“This was my first game back and I know my timing wasn’t going to be up to snuff but I was willing to do anything to help my team out,” Ka‘aua said.
Ka‘aua just started throwing from 90 feet on Friday and likely won’t be ready to play in the field or catch until next week when UH opens Big West play.
HAWAII 8, SANTA CLARA 1
| BRONCOS |
AB |
R |
H |
BI |
BB |
SO |
| Cresto ss |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Woods cf |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Smithwick lf/cf |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Florentine lf |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Geremia cf |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Berman c |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Bowes ph |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Brodt 1b |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Budnick 1b |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Cortopassi 3b |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Haberle 3b |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Meditz dh |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Frankfort dh |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Becht 2b |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Fisher 2b |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Meylan rf |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| TOTALS |
31 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
|
| RAINBOW WARRIORS |
AB |
R |
H |
BI |
BB |
SO |
| LoCoco cf |
4 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Sheldon-Collins ss |
4 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Weeks 3b |
5 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Ramirez 1b |
4 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
| Doi lf |
5 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
| Ka’aua dh |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| Fitchett rf |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Baldwin rf |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Rios c |
4 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| Rojas 2b |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| TOTALS |
38 |
8 |
14 |
8 |
4 |
7 |
| Santa Clara (9-11) |
000 |
001 |
|
000 |
|
— |
1 |
3 |
1 |
| Hawaii (10-13) |
300 |
023 |
|
00X |
|
— |
8 |
14 |
1 |
E—White, Weeks. DP—none. LOB—Santa Clara 3, Hawaii 10. 2B–Ramirez 2. 3B—none. SH—none. HBP—Fitchett. SB–Cresto, Meylan, Sheldon-Collins, Ka’aua. CS— none.
| SANTA CLARA |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
| White (L, 2-3) |
5 |
9 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
| Hendron |
1⁄3 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
| Martin-Resnick |
2 2⁄3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| HAWAII |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
| Von Ruden (W, 3-1) |
9 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
| WP– none. HBP— by White(Fitchett). BK—none. |
Umpires—(Plate): Ryan Bleiberg. (First): Jason Venzon. (Third): Ramon Armendariz. T—2:30. A—1,295.
