Without a warmup, Logan Pouelsen delivered a heat-seeking, three-run homer to deliver the Hawaii baseball team a pulsating 8-6 victory over Cal State Fullerton at Les Murakami Stadium.
A Friday night crowd of 2,038 saw the Rainbow Warriors complete a comeback win with Pouelsen’s strut-off homer.
“I tried to stick to my approach,” Pouelsen said. “(Dillon Brown) threw a ball to the inner third, down, and I got the barrel out and it went.”
By the time the ball had touched down behind the wall in right field, the ’Bows were sprinting toward home plate to prepare for the impromptu celebration party.
“Logan’s never cold,” third baseman Ethan Lopez screamed. “He’s always hot.”
It was a remarkable, Lazarus-like ending for the ’Bows, who were victimized by several eye-rubbing incidents. An apparent strike that was not called a strike led to the Titans’ ensuing two-run double. Another Fullerton rally was preceded by a weird cue shot of a grounder. The ’Bows also entered the final inning down 6-4 against the Big West’s most successful team. The Titans have appeared in the postseason in 27 consecutive years.
But on this windy night in Manoa, it was the ’Bows who would have the last say.
Scotty Scott opened the UH ninth with a single, then trotted to second when Maaki Yamazaki coaxed a walk.
Brennen Hancock, who earlier extended his hitting streak to 13 games, put down a bunt to the left of the mound. The sacrifice advanced Scott and Yamazaki.
The Titans then signaled to intentionally walk Lopez, filling the bases and putting the potential winning run on first. Next, Scott scored on a wild pitch.
After Alex Baeza popped out to first, UH coach Mike Trapasso waited to see if Brown, a right-hander, would remain on the mound.
Trapasso then summoned for the left-swinging Pouelsen to hit for right-handed Daylen Calicdan, the ’Bows’ leader in batting average.
“We liked the way Logan fit the sinker-slider, particularly the right-handed slider,” Trapasso said. “Daylen would have faced slider, slider, slider. We felt it was a better fit for Logan.”
Pouelsen, who is scheduled to be UH’s starting pitcher today, said he began loosening in the sixth inning, just in case.
“I was getting my mind right,” Pouelsen said. “Tonight just happened to be the game-winner. It was a sinker, and I got the head (of the bat) on it. This is the first walk-off homer that I can remember. But I knew it (was a homer) as soon as I hit it.”
Kameron Guangorena’s first homer of the season — a two-run shot in the sixth — gave the Titans a 5-4 lead. The Titans added another run in the eighth.
Lopez gave UH a 4-3 lead with a solo homer in the fifth inning.
But in the Fullerton sixth, Jacob Pavletich hit a grounder that ricocheted off the first-base bag and bounced toward second baseman Dallas Duarte. Duarte’s throw to first baseman Baeza was too late. Guangorena then hit a 1-1 pitch — Cade Smith’s 101st of the game — over the wall in right-center to give the Titans a 5-4 lead.
The ’Bows had tied it at 3-all in a two-run fourth inning. With two outs, Tyler Best smacked a single to right field. Scott then pulled a liner down the right-field line as Best raced home to close the ‘Bows to 3-2. It was Scott’s fourth triple of his freshman season.
Yamazaki then singled to right to bring home Best with the tying run.
The Titans plated two runs to break a scoreless tie in the third inning. The Titans filled the bases on two walks and a single. With one out, Smith threw what appeared to be a third strike to Mitchell Berryhill. But the home plate umpire Jeffrey Henrichs called it a ball. Berryhill laced the ensuing 2-2 pitch into left-center for a two-run double.
The ’Bows closed to 2-1 in the bottom of the third. Yamazaki and Hancock reached on consecutive singles. With two outs, Baeza slapped an opposite-field single to left to score Yamazaki.
The Titans expanded their lead to 3-1 in the fourth when Jairus Richards drew a one-out walk, sprinted to third on Pavletich’s single to right-center, and scored on Guangorena’s RBI grounder to second.
