Catcher DallasJ Duarte drove in five runs and second baseman Stone Miyao hit a grand slam and drove in six to power the University of Hawaii baseball team to Saturday’s 20-6 rout of Cal State Bakersfield at Hardt Field in Bakersfield.
The Rainbow Warriors’ season-high eighth victory in a row evened their overall record at 16-16. They are 9-6 in the Big West. It was the second weekend in a row the ’Bows swept a three-game league series. They have won the first three in this seven-game, 13-day road trip in California.
The Roadrunners fell to 14-9 and 7-5.
The ’Bows amassed 16 hits in building a 20-1 lead after 71⁄2 innings, five of them coming in an 11-run fourth inning. The combination of the ’Bows’ offense and the Roadrunners’ defense was the difference. CSUB committed a school-record eight errors, including seven in the first four innings.
“What a great performance today by our offense,” UH coach Rich Hill said. “We came ready to go. (The Roadrunners) opened the door for us a little bit with some of their defense, and we kicked it in.”
Hill noted the ’Bows used small-ball tactics — bunts, speed game — to put pressure on the Roadrunners’ fielders. With dry and windy conditions leading to a hard infield, the ’Bows tried to put the ball in play with grounders.
Duarte went 4-for-5, including two-run singles in the third and fourth innings. Duarte, who recently moved to third in the order, was 6-for-12 with a home run and seven RBIs in this series. “He had a great weekend,” Hill said. “Inserting him into that three hole, he’s done a great job. He gives you a tough at-bat.”
With tutoring from hitting coach Dave Nakama, the left-handed Miyao has added oomph to his recent at-bats. “Him and Coach Nakama have really worked hard, and it’s paying off,” Hill said of Miyao, who was 3-for-5 with six RBIs and his first career grand slam. “Stone’s got pop. He’s that wiry guy who’s got sneaky pop. The wind was blowing out to right today. You get a barrel on it and up in the air, it’s going to be a home run.”
Andy Archer, who relieved on Thursday, came back to start Saturday. He was pulled in the third inning. Connor Harrison, the second of six UH pitchers, threw 32⁄3 scoreless innings to improve to 2-0.
“Connor was just dominating,” Hill said. “He always had a two-strike count. Sometimes those are tough games to pitch in. He really did a good job.”
The ’Bows will play a nonconference road game against Fresno State on Tuesday, then travel to Northern California ahead of Friday’s series opener against UC Davis.
