Hawaii baseball team back on winning track

Adam Fogel rocketed out of an oh-for-forever slump against UC Riverside with a two-run double in a four-run eighth inning to lift Hawaii to Friday’s 7-5 victory at The Plex in Riverside, Calif.

Coupled with Aaron Davenport’s innings-eating pitching, the Rainbow Warriors rallied from a 5-1 deficit to win the opener of this four-game Big West series. The ’Bows are 13-10 overall and 5-8 in the Big West. The Highlanders fell to 6-14 and 4-9.

The ’Bows squandered opportunities early, settling for a run in the first after a runner was thrown out at second and then stranding three runners, and eventually falling behind 2-1 and, after the fourth, 5-1.

But the ’Bows cut the deficit to 5-3 when Scotty Scott doubled home Kole Kaler, then came around on consecutive wild pitches.

In the UH eighth, Matt Campos was hit by a pitch and Tyler Murray drew a five-pitch walk. Campos and pinch runner Jared Quandt advanced on Aaron Ujimori’s sacrifice. Kaler then tied it at 5 with a two-run grounder up the middle.

Scott then drew a walk, bringing up Fogel. Fogel entered the game hitless in 25 career at-bats against the Highlanders. Fogel was hitless in his first four at-bats, striking out twice, when he drove Abbott Haffar’s pitch to deep left. The ball one-hopped off the wall as Kaler and Scott sprinted home with the go-ahead runs.

“Pretty crazy, isn’t it?” UH coach Mike Trapasso said of Fogel’s breakthrough double.”Hit No. 1 came at a pretty good time for us.”

Tyler Dyball, who replaced Davenport to start the UCR eighth, allowed a leadoff walk to Nathan Webb. But Dyball induced three consecutive groundouts, and retired the side in the ninth on 12 pitches to earn his first save.

“You come in with a two-run lead and you walk the leadoff guy, that’s not good baseball,” Trapasso said. “But his stuff was really good tonight. He was able to work out of it.”

Davenport, UH’s ace, was not at his best. While he had movement with his curve and deception with his changeup, Davenport could not lower his fastball.

“I give (the Highlanders) credit,” Trapasso said. “The first three innings, they were aggressive. They jumped all over (Davenport). In reality, everything was up early. He’s got to be able to locate his fastball. He doesn’t throw (it) 100 mph. As good as his secondary pitches are, he’s got to be able to pitch off his fastball. When the fastball is up in the (catcher’s) mask, he gets hit.”

The Highlanders amassed seven hits and placed runners in scoring position in each of the first four innings. “In a three-game series, (Davenport is) probably out of the game in the fourth inning,” Trapasso said.

Trapasso did not want to tax the bullpen ahead of today’s doubleheader and Sunday’s series finale. He implored Davenport to gut it out for a few more innings. Davenport responded with three scoreless innings.

“He was only at about 60 pitches (after four innings), and he settled down,” Trapasso said. “And the three zeros he put up were huge. Once you settle down and pitch instead of trying to throw for strikeouts, that’s when you’re going to put up zeros. I think it was a huge sign of maturity on his part in giving us three zeros in going seven (innings), understanding in the first game of a four-game series, he can’t go out in four innings.”