Baseball Rainbows slip by Santa Clara

Alan Baldwin made the only play that truly mattered count.

The fifth-year senior atoned for a bunting mistake earlier in the game with a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning as Hawaii rallied to stun Santa Clara 3-2 on Saturday night to take a 2-1 series lead.

A Les Murakami Stadium crowd of 1,848 hung around for a special finish by the Rainbow Warriors (11-13), who have won five of six.

Trailing 2-1 with only four hits all evening, Hawaii had runners at first and second for Baldwin, who was making his first start in four games.

The Kailua alum snapped an 0-for-10 skid dumping a two-out, two-strike pitch into shallow right center to score Marcus Doi with the tying run.

The ball was bobbled by center fielder Kert Woods, allowing Kekai Rios to score from first for UH’s second walk-off win this season.

“I got down to two strikes after I watched a fastball painted away and I was looking for something that I could hit,” Baldwin said. “I saw the outfielder bobble and I got to second and the runners never stopped and it was over.”

The entire UH team exploded out of the dugout to mob Baldwin, who had an eventful night.

He allowed a triple get by him in the third inning that could have been caught, but instead resulted in the second run scored by the Broncos (9-12).

Hawaii had the tying run at the plate with runners at the corners and one out in the seventh inning, but Baldwin popped a squeeze bunt right back at the pitcher for the second out.

UH failed to score in the inning and had only three hits entering the ninth, but plated two against Santa Clara closer Max Kuhns (0-3), who had six saves.

“He misplays a fly ball that was well hit, no doubt about that, but he takes a bad route on that and then we don’t execute on the safety, but what’s so great about this game is the hardest working, one of the best kids I’ve ever coached, can have so much adversity and then be a hero,” Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said.

Hawaii trailed for the entire game and was held down at the plate by Santa Clara starter Steven Wilson, who allowed one run and three hits in 62⁄3 innings.

UH had only struck out four times and was barrelling up balls that just weren’t finding holes until the end.

“I feel like we did a lot of the same things that we find ourselves successful with,” Baldwin said. “We hit a lot of balls hard but right at people who made good plays, but we got it done at the end which is all that really matters.”

Matt LoCoco went 2-for-4 with a triple and scored a run in the sixth inning to cut the deficit in half.

Hawaii starter Alex Hatch worked a season-high 71⁄3 innings but struggled through much of the early going.

He survived a four-pitch leadoff walk in the first inning but gave up a solo homer to Jake Brodt to start the top of the second.

Kamehameha alum Tyler Meditz, who had two extra-base hits in the game, was credited with a triple to lead off the third on a ball that bounced off the glove of Baldwin, who was starting in place of Alex Fitchett.

After the triple, Hatch retired 16 of the next 19 batters he faced until leaving with one out in the seventh.

“He didn’t have his best stuff early, but he bulldogged his way through and in the middle innings we started going to the change-up,” Trapasso said. “That’s a senior who is grasping and embracing this opportunity and he’s pitched really well for us.”

Hatch left after hitting consecutive batters in the eighth inning. Hawaii brought in Cody Culp, who got Woods to fly out to shallow center with the bases loaded to the end the eighth.

Culp (1-1) worked a perfect ninth inning and was credited with a key win for a UH team battling to get to .500 in time for conference play.

“Walk-offs in general, a lot of energy, a lot of emotion going down to the bottom of the ninth and we’ve done it before,” LoCoco said. “Baldy came up big for us. We were squaring balls up all night and we kept with it, didn’t change anything, and in the end it worked out.”

Sophomore Patrick Martin (1-0) will start today’s finale at 1:05 p.m. A win would give UH a second consecutive four-game series win and move the ‘Bows one game under .500 heading into the Big West.

HAWAII 3, SANTA CLARA 2

E–Florentine, Woods 2. DP–Santa Clara 1. LOB–Santa Clara 7, Hawaii 6. 2B-Meditz. 3B–Meditz, LoCoco. HR–Brodt.

SF–Weeks. HBP–Cortopassi, Florentine, Meylan, Rios. SB-Woods.

Two outs, 1 runner LOB when winning run scored.

WP-Hatch 2. HBP–by Hatch (Cortopassi), by Hatch (Florentine), by Hatch (Meylan), by Kuhns (Rios).

Umpires–(Plate): Jason Venzon. (First): Ramon Armendariz. (Third): Ryan Bleiberg. T–2:29. A–1,848.