Fueled by banana pancakes and a high-revolution slider, left-hander Randy Abshier pitched a two-hitter for his first career shutout in Hawaii’s 2-0 baseball victory over Long Beach State at Les Murakami Stadium.
The ’Bows won the first two of this three-game series to improve to 18-13 overall and 8-6 in the Big West. The Dirtbags fell to 22-14 and 9-8.
“I never even dreamed about doing that,” said Abshier, who was exclusively a reliever at Arizona before transferring to UH last August. “As a reliever, a nice little zero in an inning is great. But nine of them? That’s kind of nuts.”
Similar to his the pregame routine of his previous eight starts this season, Abshier and his girlfriend, Bailey Faulkner, ate breakfast at Koa Pancake House, where they ordered banana pancakes and the house burrito.
Abshier then made use of a changeup and slider that pitching coach Mathew Troupe helped develop in the practices ahead of Saturday’s game.
“In our midweek bullpen (session), we knew (the slider) was going to work when we saw the spin on the ball,” Abshier said. “When I threw it for strikes, it allowed my fastball to play even higher. They competed, but I think I out-competed.”
In the UH seventh inning of a scoreless game, Ben Zeigler-Namoa drew his second walk of the night. One out later, Zach Storbakken pulled a drive into the left field corner as Zeigler-Namoa raced home for a 1-0 lead. Storbakken, who transferred in August after playing two seasons at Madison (Wisc.) College, was making his eighth UH start. He entered the series hitting .222 but went 4-for-8 in the first two games.
“I just made some adjustments midweek,” said Storbakken, who embraced tips from hitting coach Dave Nakama. “I made some simple adjustments at the plate. I simplified things mentally.”
Of the run-scoring double, Storbakken said, “It was a hit-and-run play. I was in swing mode. I saw a hanging changeup and put a good swing on it.”
The ’Bows added an insurance run in the eighth. Kyson Donahue powered an opposite-field double to left. Naighel Ali‘i Calderon, the fastest ’Bow, pinch-ran for Donahue. Jacob Igawa followed with a single up the middle and Calderon sprinted home.
That was enough support for Abshier, who walked one, struck out nine and allowed only one LBSU player to reach second base. He threw strikes on 74 of 102 pitches. In the first inning, all 10 of his pitches were strikes.
“He’s been a high-profile guy since high school,” UH coach Rich Hill said of the decision to move Abshier to starter. “Some guys are late bloomers. Randy’s one of those guys. He developed late physically. Him and Coach Troupe have this great synergy. He has a new-found maturity. He’s comfortable in his own skin. That was the product tonight.”
The ’Bows did not capitalize on a scoring opportunity after Storbakken doubled to left in the fifth inning. Jared Quandt lined out to second baseman Eddie Saldivar, Jordan Donahue popped out to catcher Connor Burns, and DallasJ Duarte struck out when he was penalized a third strike on a 20-second violation.
In the fourth inning, Igawa struck out with runners on second and third. After Zeigler-Namoa walked to fill the bases, Stone Miyao struck out.
The Dirtbags were foiled when Quandt made sprawling catches to end the fourth and fifth innings. “If I see an opportunity to dive, I love to dive,” said Quandt, who had to navigate the bright stadium lights. “The second one, I actually lost in the middle of the air. I had to pick it up as I was diving. The lights can be tough, but you have to stay with it.”
