On Long Beach State’s getaway day, the Hawaii baseball team gave one away.
Erratic pitching and squandered opportunities added up to the Rainbow Warriors’ 8-5 loss at Les Murakami Stadium.
The ’Bows had won the first three of this four-game Big Series but could not complete the sweep. The outcome also ended the ’Bows’ 10-game winning streak, the longest in Mike Trapasso’s 20 seasons as UH head coach. UH is 11-3 overall and 3-1 in the Big West. Long Beach, which departed on Sunday evening, did not play a nonconference schedule because of health protocols in its county.
“It was a disappointing day,” Trapasso said, “and it’ll leave a bad taste in our mouths for this week because we know the formula is starting to play itself out with some clarity. If we play well and take care of the baseball and eliminate the freebies, we have a chance to win every game. And if we don’t, we don’t. And that was a perfect example today.”
Trapasso has preached a “clean” effort, but that did not happen against the Dirtbags. Four times, the ’Bows left the bases loaded. They stranded six runners in the first two innings, and 11 by the end of the fourth. In all, they had 17 runners left on base — two short of the team record set in a 15-inning game 27 years ago.
Down 4-1 in the third, the ’Bows tied it when they loaded and then emptied the bases on a hit and error. Freshman Jared Quandt’s grounder to second enabled Tyler Best to score from third. When second baseman Calvin Estrada’s throw sailed past first baseman Chase Luttell to the vacated area in front of the backstop, Matt Campos and then Tyler Murray sprinted home.
But the Dirtbags then manufactured runs creatively. Sebastian Murrillo’s safety squeeze scored Alex Pimentel to break a 4-all tie in the fourth. Estrada drove in a run when his chopper bounced over first baseman Alex Baeza for a 7-4 lead. In the ninth, Connor Kokx led off with a single. Cameron Hagan entered in relief of Tai Atkins. Kokx stole second and third on consecutive pitches, then came home on Charlie Loust’s single.
Trapasso said Hagan was not in sync and appeared to be a tad slow to the plate. “He didn’t have it,” Trapasso said.
Neither did senior right-hander Logan Pouelsen, who was making his second start of the season. Pouelsen is at his best when he utilizes his four-pitch menu.
“He was fine when he was warming up,” Trapasso said. “But you could see from the first pitch, he gets into these struggles where he’s cutting everything off, and he just hooks everything to the glove side. He couldn’t make the adjustment, and he couldn’t figure it out.”
Kokx, who moved to the front of the lineup, drew a walk to open the game. Koxk stole second, and came around on Aidan Malm’s single. Malm eventually scored on Estrada’s sacrifice fly. Then Luttrell rocketed a solo homer over the wall in right-center.
“It all starts on the mound,” Trapasso said. “The guy on the mound sets the tempo … and we just didn’t pitch well enough to win. But you look at both sides and how the pitching was, and leaving 17 guys on base. It really came down to us not pitching well, but them getting the hits to drive in runs when they needed. Them not pitching well and us not getting the hits to drive in guys when we needed.”
The Long Beach pitchers relinquished 12 hits, walked eight and plunked two. Starting pitcher Basilio Pacheco, who did not pitch last season after suffering an injury in 2019, lasted only six batters. He walked three and got one out before being pulled.
“It’s been a process to get him back to feeling right and comfortable,” Long Beach coach Eric Valenzuela said.
The Dirtbags and ’Bows used six pitchers each.
“That was a very, very difficult game,” Valenzuela said. “This whole weekend was difficult. They’re a really good team. That was a hard weekend. Every game was a battle.”
