The Hawaii baseball team ran out of innings and comebacks in Saturday’s 10-9 loss to Cal Poly at Les Murakami Stadium.
The Mustangs scored seven runs in the sixth to vaporize a 4-1 deficit, increased the advantage to 10-6, and held on as the Rainbow Warriors scored a run in the eighth and two in the ninth.
The outcome doomed the ’Bows to their sixth loss in seven games. The ’Bows dropped to 22-19 overall and 8-9 in the Big West, the first time below .500 in league play this season.
Eric Ramirez and Dustin Demeter hit RBI doubles to close the ’Bows to 10-9 with two outs in the ninth. Ethan Lopez hit a hard grounder that pitcher Taylor Dollard snagged. Dollard’s throw to first ensured his second save of the season.
The ’Bows ended a scoreless streak of 19 innings when Adam Fogel blasted a three-run homer in the bottom of the first. The ’Bows added a run in the fifth to make it 4-1.
But what the UH offense took, the pitching staff gave away. The ’Bows entered the series short-staffed, with Neil Uskali, Dominic DeMiero and Logan Pouelsen unavailable to pitch because of arm ailments. The trio accounted for 29 starts.
The ’Bows, who gave up 26 runs in this series’ first two games, used four pitchers on Friday and seven on Saturday. First baseman Alex Baeza pitched in the ninth. But after the Mustangs placed two on with two out, closer Dylan Thomas was summoned despite UH trailing by three runs. Thomas struck out Nick DiCarlo on five pitches.
UH freshman Cade Smith was on track to his best performance since the Ides of March, allowing a run through the first five innings. But it all derailed in the Cal Poly sixth.
Alex McKenna was struck by Smith’s 0-2 pitch to open the inning. Kyle Marinconz followed with an opposite-field double to left-center. Tate Samuelson then belted Smith’s 78th — and final — pitch of the night into right-center for a double to drive home McKenna and Marinconz.
Nick Meyer then placed a bunt toward first base. Kyle Hatton, who had relieved Smith, could not field the ball in time to get Meyer at first. Hatton struck out Colby Barrick for the first out. With runners at the corners, Bradley Beesley hit a sharp grounder that was suitable for a double play. But the ball went past second baseman Demeter for an error, enabling Samuelson to score and tie it at 4-all.
Elijah Skipps, who entered hitting .526 in Big West games, rocketed a grounder that went between Demeter and first baseman Baeza and all the way to the wall to bring home Meyer and Beesley with the go-ahead runs.
Scott Ogrin powered a two-run homer over the wall in right field to increase the Mustangs’ advantage to 8-4.
The ’Bows scored two runs in the sixth inning despite a unique double play. With Fogel on second and Demeter at first, right-swinging Ethan Lopez pulled a grounder. Dylan Doherty fielded the ball, stepped on third base for the first out and fired to second base. But the ball sailed into right field. Beesley scooped it, and fired to Doherty, who tagged out Demeter.
Lopez then stole second, and scored on Baeza’s bloop single to left. Later, Maaki Yamazaki’s RBI single closed the ’Bows to 8-6.
But the Mustangs wasted little time in re-inflating their lead, scoring two runs in the seventh. The surge began after the first batters struck out. Meyer and Barrick hit consecutive singles, and Beesley followed with an RBI double.
Jeremy Yelland was summoned for his 13th appearance — and then, two batters later, a disappearance. Yelland issued consecutive walks, including a bases-filled freebie to extend the Mustangs’ lead to 10-6. Yelland yielded the mound to left-hander Kash Koltermann, the ’Bows’ fifth pitcher of the game.