Portland scored six runs in the 10th inning for a 10-4 victory over Hawaii in a season-opening game that was peppered with intermittent rain and controversy at Les Murakami Stadium
A Friday night crowd of 2,549 saw the Pilots fill the bases in the 10th, then unfilled them with a hit batsman and three doubles.
The Rainbow Warriors had rallied from a 4-1 deficit to tie it at 4 in the seventh. But they missed an opportunity to win it after loading the bases in the ninth. Jack Kennelly tapped a grounder back to the mound. Connor Knutson fired to home to catcher Dutton Elske, who then threw out Kennelly at first. But UH coach Mike Trapasso asked for a review on whether Elske touched the plate as pinch runner Daylen Calicdan raced home. The umpires upheld the double play.
The ’Bows scored a run in the seventh to tie it at 4. Adam Fogel reached when he was struck by a pitch. Logan Pouelsen followed with a ground single to center. Ethan Lopez then hit a towering fly near the left-field line. The ball fell among a triangle of Portland fielders as Fogel scooted home with the tying run.
In the sixth inning, the ’Bows closed to 4-3 when first baseman Alex Baeza blasted a two-run drive over the wall in right field.
Kennelly then drew a walk and Dallas Duarte was hit with a pitch, leading to Portland starter Eli Morse’s ouster. Left-handed Cole Wilkinson walked Scotty Scott to fill the bases for UH. Wilkinson exited, and Christian Peters, a right-hander with a submarine delivery, was summoned.
Maaki Yamazaki grounded back to Peters, who threw home to get Kennelly for the second out.
Elske’s throw to first struck Yamazaki and rolled into right field, with Duarte racing home for the apparent tying run.
But the umpires ruled that Yamazaki interfered with the throw to first. Yamazaki was ruled out, ending the ’Bows’ threat.
Left-hander Jeremy Wu-Yelland earned the ’Bows’ first start in place of Dylan Thomas, who is being held out of the four-game series because of a blister problem on the middle finger of his right (pitching) hand.
Wu-Yelland was splendid early. He struck out two in the first inning, another two in the second, and had seven strikeouts after five scoreless innings.
But after two successful tours through the Pilots’ lineup, Wu-Yelland struggled in the third go-around. Chad Stevens tripled on a drive that just eluded center fielder Adam Fogel to open the sixth inning.
Coden Hawken followed with a line single to left to score Stevens and tie it at 1.
Hawken then went to second on Hunter Montgomery’s bloop single to left. Both runners advanced on Daniel Lopez’s sacrifice. That led to Trapasso pulling Wu-Yelland.
But the replacement, Pouelsen, had difficulty finding the strike zone. Pouelsen walked Henry Cheney to load the bases. After striking out Tracye Tammaro on a 3-2 pitch, Pouelsen walked Elske on four pitches to bring home Hawken with the go-ahead run.
The Pilots added two more runs when Jace McKinney reached on an infield single to deep short, and Matt Kelly was hit by a Pouelsen pitch with the bases loaded.
