Rainbows fall at series opener against No. 13 UC Irvine
Anthony Martinez drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and 13th-ranked UC Irvine added an insurance run in the eighth for a 3-1 victory over Hawaii at Cicerone Field at Anteater Park in Orange County, Calif.
“Those are tough ones,” UH coach Rich Hill said.
Before 723, the Anteaters improved to 26-9 overall and 14-2 in the Big West by taking the opener of the three-game series on the UCI campus.
The Rainbow Warriors fell to 25-11 and 10-9, missing a chance to claim sole possession of fourth place. Five teams qualify for the Big West Tournament.
Matthew Miura went 4-for-5, including a run-scoring double in the fifth to tie it a 1.
In the UCI seventh, Frankie Carney and Colin Yeaman drew back-to-back one-out walks. Jacob McCombs struck out swinging on a wild pitch as Carney raced to third. Martinez then pulled a grounder that eluded first baseman Ben Zeigler-Namoa and could not be fielded by second baseman Shunsuke Sakaino as Carney came home with the tie-breaking run.
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“Hit ’em where they ain’t,” Hill said, citing one of baseball’s popular sayings.
Martinez, who averages 1.24 RBIs per game across his three-season UCI career, has driven in 41 runs in 27 games this season.
The ’Bows missed a chance to tie it in the eighth. With pinch runner Jarret “JJ” Nielsen on third, Jordan Donahue showed a bunt stance on what was supposed to be a run-on-contact attempt. But the pitch was high and Nielsen, who broke for home, was caught in a rundown and eventually tagged out.
Carney’s run-scoring single made it 3-1 in the eighth.
Ricky Ojeda, who pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, improved to 8-0. Max Martin earned his ninth save.
The rematch is Friday, beginning at 3 p.m. Sebastian Gonzalez will be the ’Bows’ starting pitcher.
