An ensemble performance helped the Hawaii baseball team assemble a 9-2 victory over Holy Cross at Les Murakami Stadium.
A Monday night crowd of 762 saw the Rainbow Warriors win the series 3-1 to improve to 7-5. The Crusaders fell to 3-7.
In what was designated as a “staff” game, the ’Bows used eight pitchers to hold the Crusaders to four hits.
Zacary Tenn, who allowed one hit in two scoreless innings, earned the victory to improve to 3-0.
“We wanted to pound the zone, a lot of fastballs,” Tenn said of his approach. “I came in when it was 7-1. I let my defense work, get in and out as fast as possible. That keeps the bats hot.”
UH coach Rich Hill’s plan was to have nine pitchers each work an inning. Tenn was assigned the fourth inning, although he was told he would be used as an “emergency” pitcher, if needed, in the first three innings. After facing only four batters in the fourth — Colin Brown reached on an error — Tenn was brought back for the fifth inning.
“I think he threw six pitches (in the third), and he really looked sharp,” Hill said of Tenn, who has not allowed a run in five appearances this season.
“I had the mindset of going for just one, and then everything worked out,” said Tenn, who threw strikes on 16 of 21 pitches. Tenn has made a full recovery from Tommy John surgery on his right (throwing) elbow that sidelined him last season.
Tai Atkins retired the final three Crusaders. The final at-bat was extended when pinch hitter Patrick Casserly hit a towering pop-up that fell between Atkins and catcher DallasJ Duarte … and then bounced across the first-base line. Atkins then induced Casserly to hit a popout to first baseman Kyson Donahue to end the game.
Atkins has regained his groove after struggling last season. This season, he has pitched a hitless inning in three of four appearances.
“Last year we had a struggle personally,” Atkins said. “But going into the summer changed a lot of things, made the game fun. Coming into the fall, that carried on. It was just a matter of earning opportunities on the playing field now.”
UH center fielder Matthew Miura, who hit .533 in the four-game series, went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs on Monday.
“I’m just going up there every at-bat with the same mentality, just trying to hit the ball,” Miura said.
The Crusaders scored the game’s first run on Brown’s double in the top of the second inning.
But the ’Bows obliterated that deficit with seven runs in their half of the second. The ’Bows produced five hits, drew a walk, and were hit by three pitches during that surge. Elijah Ickes hit a two-run single and Miura’s triple brought home another two runs.
“Everybody’s doing their job around me, one through nine, everybody is putting barrel to ball, drawing walks, stealing bases,” Miura said. “All I have to do is my job.”
In the fifth, the ’Bows added two more runs. Jordan Donahue and Ickes opened the inning with back-to-back walks. Austin Machado singled through the right side as Donahue raced home with the ’Bows’ eighth run and Ickes scooted to third. Machado was thrown out at second on the play.
Miura then grounded to deep short and beat the throw to first base as Ickes scored from third.
Miura was a home run short of becoming the sixth ’Bow to hit for the cycle.
The Crusaders scored a run in the sixth when Cam Bryant doubled, went to third on a groundout, and came home on a wild pitch.
The ’Bows play host to Rice in a four-game series beginning Friday night.
HAWAII 9, HOLY CROSS 2
CRUSADERS AB R H BI BB SO
Egrie lf 2 0 0 0 1 0
Toomey rf 4 0 0 0 0 2
Bryant 3b 4 1 1 0 0 2
Baillargeon 1b 3 1 0 0 1 1
King ss 3 0 0 0 1 1
Brown c 3 0 1 1 1 0
Royer cf 3 0 0 0 0 0
Casserly ph 1 0 0 0 0 0
LaFleur dh 3 0 1 0 0 0
Wieder 2b 3 0 1 0 0 1
TOTALS 29 2 4 1 4 7
RAINBOW WARRIORS AB R H BI BB SO
Ickes 3b 4 2 1 2 2 0
Machado dh 5 1 3 2 0 1
Miura cf 5 1 3 3 0 0
Duarte c 4 1 1 0 0 0
Tsukada 2b 4 1 1 0 0 0
Miyao 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rimmer rf 3 0 2 0 0 0
Nahaku pr/lf 1 0 0 0 0 1
Quandt lf/rf 3 1 0 0 2 0
Rivera 1b 3 0 0 0 1 1
Donahue, K. 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0
Donahue, J. ss 3 2 1 0 1 1
TOTALS 36 9 12 7 6 4
Holy Cross (3-7) 010 001 000 — 2 4 2
Hawaii (7-5) 070 020 00X — 9 12 1
LOB–Holy Cross 5, UH 13. 2b–Bryant,
Brown; Machado, Miura. 3b–Miura. SH–
Egrie. SB–Egrie; Miura, Quandt, Donahue,
J. CS–Donahue, J. HBP–Duarte, Tsukada,
Rimmer, Donahue, J. E–King, Wieder;
Ickes. DP–UH 2.
HOLY CROSS IP H R ER BB SO
Wywoda (L, 0-2) 12
3 6 7 5 1 2
Nesson 3 3 2 2 3 0
Walters 11
3 2 0 0 1 1
Mateffy 1 1 0 0 0 1
Sutman 1 0 0 0 1 0
HAWAII IP H R ER BB SO
Cardinez 1 0 0 0 0 1
Ronan 1 1 1 1 1 1
Gonzalez 1 0 0 0 1 3
Tenn (W, 3-0) 2 1 0 0 0 0
Bayne 1
3 1 1 1 2 0
Gotschall 12
3 1 0 0 0 0
Standish 1 0 0 0 0 2
Atkins 1 0 0 0 0 0
HBP–by Wywoda (Rimmer, Donahue, J.,
Tsukdada), by Walters (Duarte). WP–Wywoda; Bayne. PB–Duarte. Umpires—
(Plate): Ryan Bleiberg. (First): Paul
Graham. (Third): Darrel Mason. T—3:04.
A—762.
