It rained, and then the Hawaii baseball team reigned.
Right fielder Adam Fogel’s tie-breaking homer in the third inning lifted the ’Bows to a 2-1 victory over Air Force at Les Murakami Stadium. The game was played to seven innings as part of a scheduled Sunday doubleheader.
But the second game was nullified following a delay of 1 hour, 20 minutes because of heavy rain and lightning. The ’Bows trailed 4-0 after one inning when play was halted.
The cancellation meant the ’Bows swept the series and opened a season 3-0 for the first time since 2006.
“I would have liked, in all honesty, to have seen what we could have done in that last game,” UH coach Mike Trapasso said. “We were playing with the lead for three games. To get down four early, it would have been fun to see what could have happened.”
The ’Bows entered the series with a redesigned infield and three returning starting pitchers. Jackson Rees, Dominic DeMiero and Neil Uskali each did not have full command of their full repertoire of pitches, but they combined to allow two earned runs and four walks in 182⁄3 innings. The ’Bows also made one error in the three games when Fogel could not secure a fly ball in foul territory after a long sprint.
“We played clean for a first weekend, and that’s all you can ask for,” Trapasso said. “Going into it, we were looking to take care of the baseball and eliminate the freebies. We had two walks a game, and one error for the whole weekend. We’ll take that any weekend.”
On Sunday, Uskali struggled early with his fastball and changeup. “The mound was a little bit muddy,” Uskali said. “I was worried about my footing instead of making quality pitches. But in the last four innings, I started to get rolling. And I had some good defense behind me.”
Trapasso said Uskali might have been “over-amped” in the first three innings. “I thought he was working too fast, his rhythm was too fast,” Trapasso said. “But he’s a seasoned guy. That’s the thing. He knows how to react when he doesn’t have his best stuff. You just try to find that one pitch that works for you, and you try to ride it.”
Uskali retired nine in a row before allowing consecutive two-out singles in the sixth. Trapasso summoned Dylan Thomas, who got his second four-out save of the series. Thomas has converted all 11 save opportunities the past two seasons.
“That last hitter gave me a run for my money,” said Thomas, who threw seven pitches to the first three batters he faced and nine to center fielder Drew Wiss. “I had to keep making my pitches until he eventually got himself out.”
The score was tied at 1 in the second when UH second baseman Dustin Demeter doubled to right to score center fielder Dylan Vchulek from second. But umpire Jake Uhlenhopp ruled that Demeter did not touch first base. Demeter was called out and Vchulek’s run was voided.
“I didn’t miss the base, but calls like that happen,” said Demeter, who appeared to touch the bag with his right cleat. “You’ve got to live with it and turn the page.”
In the third, Fogel rocketed John Byrnes’ fastball for his first homer — and fourth extra-base hit — of the season.
“I’m seeing the ball well right now,” Fogel said. “I’m looking for fastballs, and take what I can get. Power comes when you don’t really force it.”
