The Hawaii baseball team bid, “goodbye, Columbus,” with Sunday’s rousing 15-3 rout of Ohio State at Bill Davis Stadium.
A crowd of 672 on the Columbus, Ohio, campus saw the Rainbow Warriors salvage the finale of a four-game series and end a six-game losing streak. The Buckeyes had won the first three games by a combined five runs.
The ’Bows amassed 19 hits, their most in three seasons, and matched their highest run production since scoring 15 against Pepperdine on Feb. 26, 2015.
Every UH starter had a hit, led by three hits by first baseman Alex Baeza, shortstop Maaki Yamazaki and right fielder Tyler Best.
“It was our most complete game of the season in an offensive and pitching standpoint,” UH coach Mike Trapasso said.
After the Buckeyes took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame — the ’Bows seized control. The ’Bows scored four in the second, two in the third, another four in the fourth, and two more in the fifth for a 12-1 advantage.
Ethan Lopez drove in three runs, and Scotty Scott and Best each had two RBIs for the ’Bows.
Entering the nonconference series, UH’s plan was to treat it as a three-game set, with Sunday’s game as a bonus. Trapasso said he wanted Logan Pouelsen, who had been struggling as a designated hitter and reliever, to be Sunday’s starting pitcher. Pouelsen was scheduled to throw about three innings, then give way to under-used pitchers.
“But then we started putting some things together offensively and it allowed us to separate (and) it allowed Logan to relax,” Trapasso said. “My plan was to staff the (pitching), but Logan was really, really good his second and third innings. We just went ahead and rode him until the game was pretty much in hand.”
Pouelsen pitched seven innings, his longest stint of the season, and allowed two runs — only one earned — while walking one and striking out four. He threw strikes on 70 of his 99 pitches.
“His stuff was really good,” Trapasso said. “His command was outstanding. He was really able to command his two-seamer. It was big for us. Hopefully, that can get him going to help us. That’s the Logan we saw all fall and all spring in our scrimmages. He’s had a hard time with these first five weeks of the season. He showed up in a big way. I’m happy for him.”
Trapasso also was pleased the ’Bows played to their potential for the first time in two weeks.
“It was a good day to be able to break out and play like we’re capable of,” Trapasso said. “It’s been a frustrating trip because we felt like if we played well we could have won several of the games the last couple of weeks that we lost. Hopefully, that’ll get us going.”
The ’Bows return to Honolulu this afternoon. They will take Tuesday off, then practice on Wednesday and Thursday in advance of the Big West opener against UC Irvine on Friday at Les Murakami Stadium. Aaron Davenport will be UH’s starting pitcher for the opener of the three-game series.
“It’s still going to be a long flight home,” Trapasso said. “And we’re still going to be disappointed with the trip in general. But it’s better to play like we did today knowing we’re capable of doing that.”