This time, there would be no Manoa magical ending.
The Hawaii baseball team, which had won this season’s first five games — three on walk-off singles — could not overcome several mistakes and Wichita State’s front-loaded pitching in an 11-4 loss at Les Murakami Stadium.
A crowd of 2,717 saw the ’Bows’ home winning streak end at 16 dating to last May. Six UH pitchers surrendered 13 hits and 11 runs, but only five were earned. The ’Bows committed four errors, hit two batters and were charged with two passed balls.
A mini UH comeback was repelled when WSU outfielder Jordan Rogers crushed a three-run homer off reliever Kyle Dobyns to extend the Shockers’ lead to 8-2 in the seventh inning.
“Coach (Brian Green) called time out right before,” Rogers recalled. “The guy had thrown like five sliders in a row. The approach was: sit slider. Sure enough, I was sitting slider, got the head (of the bat) out and good things happen when you do that.”
The Shockers had to borrow bats, helmets and other equipment when much of their gear did not arrive in time on a connecting flight from Dallas ahead of Thursday’s series opener. But the Shockers were fully equipped on Friday night. Rogers was reunited with his 33-inch, 30-ounce, two-piece bat.
“I’d never done that before,” Rogers said of borrowing an opposing team’s equipment. “The game doesn’t change, whatever bat you’re using. It felt good to have my bat back. Luckily, the airport got our stuff. And we came out here and do what we always do: compete.”
To maintain their pitching rotation, the Shockers used a long reliever as Thursday’s starter for the opener of this four-game series. Right-hander Brady Hamilton was used in his usual Friday start. Hamilton spaced seven hits, but struck out eight, walked one and allowed only two runs, of which only one was earned.
“I thought their starting pitcher controlled the tempo,” UH coach Rich Hill said. “He pitches with a lot of emotion, a perfect Friday guy. He’s going to do very well in that (American Athletic) Conference.”
Hamilton said: “It felt good. This place is fun. There was a big crowd. We got beat up (Thursday) night — that one stung — and we came back. It was fun. We found a groove.”
Hamilton relied on a fastball, change-up, curveball and moxie. “The stuff’s going to come and go. If I can go out there and attack the whole game, it doesn’t matter what I got that day,” Hamilton said. “I was throwing the whole thing. Some worked, some didn’t. But we got it done.”
Arnad Mulamekic replaced Hamilton in the sixth, inheriting a base-loaded situation with no outs and a 5-0 lead. Mulamekic induced Kamana Nakuku to hit a grounder to short. Camden Johnson got the forceout at second but misfired on the throw to first, allowing a second UH runner to score. Mulamekic pitched 3 1⁄3 innings. After the ’Bows scored a run and loaded the bases in the ninth to cut the deficit to 11-4, Aaron Arnold got the final two outs.
“It was not ‘one of those days,’” Hill said. “They had the better energy than us from the jump. Coach Green does a good job with his players getting ready to play, and I did not. I take full responsibility for not having our guys ready to get after it. They out-coached us and out-played us. We’ll be better (Saturday).”
The cross winds blowing from left to right usually impact drives at Les Murakami. But it was the lights that factored in the game’s first run in the second inning. Left-swinging Josh Livingston hit a towering opposite-field fly ball. Left fielder Ben Zeigler-Namoa lost track of the ball in the glare as it sailed over his head for a triple. Kam Durnin blooped a single to left to bring home Livingston for a 1-0 Wichita State lead.
In the WSU third, Hunter Carlson singled to center. Pitcher Itsuki Takemoto fielded Jordan Black’s bunt but threw past first baseman Aidan Kuni. Carlson raced to third and Black to second on the error. Johnson’s RBI groundout made it 2-0.
In the fourth, the Shockers loaded the bases with one out. Hunter Carlson’s single to left brought home Livingston and Durnin to expand the lead to 4-0. In the fifth, Jaden Gustafson opened with a double and, two outs later, scored on Durnin’s single to center.
It was 5-2 when Rogers hit his first home run of the season.
The series is tied at a game apiece. Tonight’s first pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.
