Some clutch hitting, with a little help from the opponent, put an end to the Hawaii baseball team’s four-game losing streak.
Matt Wong tied the game with an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning and Hawaii scored the go-ahead runs on a passed ball and an error by the pitcher resulting in an 11-10 victory on a wild Friday night before a Les Murakami Stadium crowd of 1,820.
Wong finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs and Jordan Donahue had a season-high three hits, scored three times and drove in two runs to lead Hawaii (5-8), which trailed 9-7 going to the bottom of the eighth inning.
Donahue, Scotty Scott and DallasJ Duarte strung together three consecutive one-out hits in the bottom of the eighth to cut the deficit to 9-8. After Rutgers reliever Dale Stanavich struck out Cole Cabrera for the second out, Wong drilled a line-drive double that made it to the left-field wall to score Scott to tie the game at 9.
With runners on second and third, Stanavich and catcher Nick Cimillo got crossed up on their signs.
Cimillo was looking for an offspeed pitch and Stanavich fired a fastball that bounced off Cimillo’s protective gear and rolled away, allowing Duarte to score the go-ahead run.
Stanavich tried to get Duarte at the plate, but his errant throw allowed Wong to come around from third to make it 11-9.
Tai Atkins (1-1) pitched 21⁄3 innings of relief with four strikeouts, but gave up a two-out RBI single to Danny DiGeorgio in the top of the ninth to make it 11-10 with the tying run at second.
Junior right-hander Dalton Renne, the sixth UH pitcher used in the game, entered in relief and got Ryan Lasko to fly out to right-center to earn his first save of the season.
“A win is a win, right? We’ll take an ugly win all the time and that’s what I told the guys,” Hawaii coach Rich Hill said. “We have a lot to talk about tomorrow. Improvement is always the key, but let’s celebrate this win. It’s a four-hour game and it’s a Friday night.”
UH improved to 5-0 when it scores at least five runs and more than doubled its entire offensive output in a four-game series loss to Vanderbilt last weekend.
Rutgers had a seven-game winning streak end to drop to 10-2 this season.
It was a struggle for the UH bullpen after starter Andy Archer exited with a 7-1 lead to start the top of the fifth.
Archer allowed an unearned run on three hits and had six strikeouts without a walk, but was pulled after a season-low 73 pitches.
“It was going to be the third time around the order and I thought he was getting hit a little bit,” Hill said. “I just wanted to make the move as you guys will see one batter too early than one batter too late.”
UH’s five relievers combined to give up nine runs on 10 hits in five innings with five walks and two hit batters.
Rutgers starter Brian Fitzpatrick, a 6-foot-7 left-hander, failed to record an out in the bottom of the fourth as Hawaii had its first five batters reach base.
All five would eventually score as Nainoa Cardinez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in the first run and Donahue followed with a two-run single to center to chase Fitzpatrick.
UH tacked on two more runs on a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly to finish with a five-spot in the frame on just two hits.
The six-run cushion was large enough for Hill to go to his bullpen, bringing in Buddie Pindel to replace Archer, who had allowed only three hits.
Rutgers welcomed the pitching change with the first of two four-run innings. Pindel allowed four hits and four runs in 2/3 innings and left-hander Connor Harrison walked the only batter he faced, forcing Hill to bring in Li’i Pontes to get out of the inning by leaving two runners on.
UH failed to score despite putting runners on second and third with nobody out in the bottom of the fifth and the Scarlet Knights took the lead in the top of the seventh.
Rutgers started the inning with a hit batter, a walk and a base hit to load the bases. Tony Santa Maria made it a one-run game with a fielder’s choice RBI and Mike Nyisztor went the other way for a two-run single to put the Rutgers in front before UH’s eighth-inning comeback.
The series continues with a doubleheader today beginning at 1:05 p.m.