With jab-jab-jab-boom efficiency, the University of Hawaii baseball team pounded out a 12-5 victory over Nevada at Les Murakami Stadium on Thursday night.
A crowd of 1,020 saw the Rainbow Warriors score six runs in the fourth inning, four in the fifth and two in the sixth to vaporize a 4-0 deficit and coast to their sixth consecutive victory. At 16-8, the ’Bows have matched their best start since 2007.
UH starting pitcher Brendan Hornung struggled early, giving up three runs in the fourth to fall behind 4-0, but rebounded following the ’Bows’ 25-minute surge in the bottom of the fourth. Hornung allowed three hits and an unearned run the next three innings to improve to 3-2. He relinquished 10 hits in seven innings, striking out five and walking one. He has issued four walks in seven starts this season.
“He didn’t have his best stuff at all,” UH coach Mike Trapasso said. “He couldn’t get on top of his splitter. He couldn’t really get any of his secondary pitches down in the zone like he normally does. … But (Nevada is) a good club. We went through the lineup twice and I still had no feel for their hitters. They’re good. They really attack the zone. You get behind and put them in an advantage count, they will absolutely hammer the fastball.”
Nevada had 10 hits, including four for extra bases, but four of their runs came on two safety bunts and two sacrifice flies. But the ’Bows continued their two-week-long offensive outburst, amassing 14 hits against four pitchers. The ’Bows have averaged 9.3 runs in their past six games.
Center-fielder Dylan Vchulek, left fielder Adam Fogel, right fielder Alex Fitchett and shortstop Dustin Demeter each had two hits for the ’Bows.
“It was a huge game for us offensively,” Trapasso said. “It was good to see, because Brendan’s had a ton of games where he’s pitched his tail off with no support. And we made up for it tonight by him not pitching his best but us really bailing him out and swinging it.”
The ’Bows pieced together several key moments. Demeter, who had dropped to ninth in the order in recent games, battled from a two-strike hole in the fourth. He fouled off two pitches, coaxed the count full, then pulled a two-run double to right.
“I thought that was the key of the game,” Trapasso said. “It kind of got things going.”
Demeter said: “At that point, with two strikes and guys on base, I was trying to get the team going and get some runs on the board. I was trying to do as little as possible while doing as much as possible.”
In the fifth, Demeter fouled off two 2-2 pitches before dropping an RBI single to right.
Logan Pouelsen, who was the odd man out with the Eric Ramirez-Fogel platoon at first, was the designated hitter, only his second start since March 12. In the fourth, the 230-pound Pouelsen reached on an error on his sacrifice attempt. Later, he hustled home on a wild pitch.
“I’m trying to do as much as I can,” Pouelsen said.
In the sixth, Pouelsen powered his second homer of the season, a two-run drive that cleared the wall in right field. It was the ’Bows’ 10th homer of the season, four more than they hit in 53 games in 2016.
“I was trying to hit something hard,” Pouelsen said. “It was a fastball right down the middle. He left the pitch up and I executed.”
Ramirez quelled a rally in the top of the third inning when he dove to make a stop, then stumble-rolled to tag first ahead of Nevada’s Mike Echavia.
HAWAII 12, NEVADA 5 |
WOLF PACK |
AB |
R |
H |
BI |
BB |
SO |
Pearce 1b |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Sprague ph |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Bridgman ss |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Lunardelli ph |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Echavia rf |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Fennell lf |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Foster c |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
Krzmarzick cf |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Shrum dh |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Statum dh |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
McLaughlin 3b |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Smith 2b |
4 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
TOTALS |
33 |
5 |
10 |
5 |
2 |
9 |
|
RAINBOW WARRIORS |
AB |
R |
H |
BI |
BB |
SO |
Vchulek cf |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
Weeks 2b |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Chan 2b |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Rios c |
5 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
Noworyta c |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Rojas 3b |
5 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Fogel lf |
5 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Ramirez 1b |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
Fitchett rf |
3 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
Pouelsen dh |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
Doi dh |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Demeter ss |
4 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
LaFave ss |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
TOTALS |
38 |
12 |
14 |
10 |
5 |
5 |
|
Nevada (7-19) |
001 |
300 |
100 |
— |
5 |
10 |
3 |
Hawaii (16-8) |
000 |
642 |
00x |
— |
12 |
14 |
0 |
E—McLaughlin 2, Echavia. DP—Hawaii 1. LOB—Nevada 6, Hawaii 10. 2B—Bridgman, Fennell, Foster, Doi, Fogel, Ramirez, Rios, Vchulek. 3B—Krzmarzick. HR–Pouelsen. HBP–Fitchett. SH—Bridgman, Weeks, Pouelsen. SF—Echavia, Pearce. SB–Fitchett. |
NEVADA |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
Charpie (L, 1-4) |
31⁄3 |
8 |
6 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
Ford |
2⁄3 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
McMahan |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
Young |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
HAWAII |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
Hornung (W, 3-2) |
7 |
10 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
5 |
Mitchell |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
Ford pitched to 4 batters in the 5th |
WP—Charpie. HBP—by Ford (Fitchett). Umpires—(Plate): Chuck Lyon. (First): Dwayne Finley. (Third): Gary DiFabio. T—3:00. A—1,020. |