A night after its first no-walk game of the season, the Hawaii baseball team was done in by a host of freebies.
Left-hander Jeremy Wu-Yelland gave up just four hits in five innings, but four walks and a hit batter resulted in six runs allowed in CSU Bakersfield’s 8-4 victory to even the series.
A Friday night Les Murakami Stadium crowd of 1,094 watched Roadrunners starter Darius Vines (3-1) work quickly and efficiently in shutting down the Rainbows (9-9).
He struck out eight and allowed four hits in a season-best seven innings to earn the win for CSU Bakersfield (10-10), which has won eight of its past 10.
“I didn’t think as a team we had any mental toughness and any focus the first five, six innings, but it all starts with Jeremy not being able to throw strikes and pitching behind in the count,” Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said. “I’m the most disappointed today than I’ve been all year because that’s our worst game of the year by far.”
Vines got the offensive support he needed in a five-run fifth inning, with designated hitter Ryan Koch delivering a three-run double with two outs to break the game open.
Wu-Yelland, who didn’t allow an earned run in seven innings last week against Oregon, fell behind 2-1 when he gave up a four-pitch walk to Noah Barba and hit a batter on the next pitch to load the bases.
After a mound visit from Trapasso, Wu-Yelland pumped in fastballs for strikes on each side of the plate to get ahead 0-2. Koch then fouled off three pitches and took two balls before drilling a bases-clearing double to the wall in left-center.
Catcher Jake Ortega added a single to score Koch to put Bakersfield ahead 6-1.
“We had two outs and you walk two and hit one … and then you give up a double. That’s the ballgame,” Trapasso said. “That’s how you get beat. That’s how bad staffs pitch and that’s exactly how we pitched today.”
Alex Baeza’s leadoff single and an error in the second led him to score on Ethan Lopez’s grounder to second for UH’s first run.
Brennen Hancock and Daylen Calicdan added back-to-back doubles with two outs in the seventh inning, with Calicdan’s hit making it 6-2.
Hawaii, which won its fifth game of the season Thursday night when trailing after seven innings, teased the possibility of another comeback, with Tyler Best drawing a walk and Scotty Scott singling to open the eighth.
Maaki Yamazaki drove in a run with a groundout to second and Baeza smoked a two-out triple off the wall in right to cut the deficit to 6-4.
Bakersfield reliever Kenny Johnson, who notched a huge strikeout with two outs and nobody on, walked Lopez before Hancock hit into a fielder’s choice on the first pitch of the at-bat.
Bakersfield added two unearned runs in the top of the ninth off reliever Logan Pouelsen.
“Logan walks the nine-hole guy and that’s how you get beat,” Trapasso said. “I’m not going to keep sending the same guys out there that are not throwing strikes.”
Right now it’s the definition of insanity and I feel like I’m going insane right now watching us go out there walking six guys a game.”
One pitcher who could get an opportunity is redshirt sophomore Carter Loewen, who made just his third career appearance.
He gave up just one hard-hit ball in 22⁄3 scoreless innings of relief.
“It kind of was a low-pressure situation and I’m grateful of any opportunity Coach Trap gives me,” the 6-foot-4 Canadian said. “Ever since I got that first taste (of pitching) against Longwood, I’ve wanted to go out there and do it again and again and again and I had a blast. It’s so much fun pitching out there.”
Loewen, a late-round draft pick in 2016 who chose to go to UH instead, had shoulder surgery and missed the 2017 season. He pitched just once last year and struck out the side after walking the first batter in his only other appearance this season.
“Carter Loewen I think wants it more than anybody and he continues to get better and work on it,” Trapasso said. “He’s deserving of a chance and made the most of it today. We’ll see him get more innings.”
