UC Riverside baseball wallops University of Hawaii

Out of the zone and out of sorts, the Hawaii baseball team was out of luck in Friday’s 15-6 loss to UC Riverside at The Plex in Riverside, Calif.

In the their first game on their campus since March 5, the Highlanders felt right at home, amassing 16 hits and coaxing seven walks against four UH pitchers. By winning the opener of the three-game series, the Highlanders improved to 10-21 overall and 2-5 in the Big West. The Rainbow Warriors are 13-18 and 3-4.

“They kicked our tails from start to finish in every single category,” UH coach Mike Trapasso told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a telephone interview.

“It was pretty obvious, I didn’t have our guys ready to go. It’s a loss that’s on me. I completely failed our kids, and particularly our pitchers.”

UH right-hander Aaron Davenport had been on a roll, with a 2.04 earned-run average after returning from a strained rotator cuff in his pitching shoulder. But Davenport lasted 11⁄3 innings, with his 10-batter appearance being the shortest stint of his freshman season.

“Davenport didn’t have it from the beginning,” Trapasso said. “Every (pitch) was up in the eyes. They’ll hit the elevated pitch..”

Davenport was tagged for five earned runs.

The ensuing three relievers offered little relief. Li‘i Pontes gave up three runs in 22⁄3 innings. Scott Bellina, who retired only one of six batters, relinquished five runs. Kash Koltermann yielded UCR’s final three runs. But Koltermann’s 32⁄3 innings of work enabled the ’Bows to preserve the rest of the bullpen for the remaining two games of this series. Today’s first pitch will be at 3 p.m.

Trapasso had warned the Highlanders were assembled for a park with friendly outfield corners and deep gaps. Dean Miller blasted a home run, and Connor Cannon smacked two homers, including a grand slam in a seven-run fifth inning. Miller and Cannon each have hit eight homers this season.

“Anybody is going to hit the pitches we threw today,” Trapasso said. “They were locked in and ready to go, and we weren’t, and that’s on me.”

Trapasso accepted blame for his pitchers not adhering to his low-ball policy.

“It’s not understanding,” Trapasso said. “Throw balls up in the zone, we’re going to continue to have those results. That’s 100 percent on me to get it across to these guys. I’m failing these kids in that regard. … I’ve failed our pitchers in not getting them to understand that balls up in the zone are a recipe for disaster. I can’t get it through to these guys at this point. We’re going to continue to work at it.”

Davenport retired the first three Highlanders, but then it unraveled for the ’Bows. The Highlanders had a baserunner in each of the next eight innings. They led 5-0, 8-0 and, after five innings, 15-1. It was a surprising outcome for the Highlanders, who relinquished 10 or more runs in 11 games this season. In three of their blowout losses, UCR gave up 21, 25 and 31 runs.

Asked if the ’Bows’ woes were physical or mental, Trapasso said, “Who knows? We didn’t pitch well and they hit well. I didn’t have our guys ready.”

“We have to forget about it and go out (Saturday) and start from scratch.”