Nationally ranked Rice rolled over Hawai‘i, 13-2, at Rainbow Stadium last night as the Rainbows tied a school record with their ninth consecutive loss.
The Western Athletic Conference baseball game was played before 1,340.
The Owls (18-3, 8-0 WAC) tagged UH starter Sean Yamashita (0-3) for eight runs (six earned) in 4¡ innings. It was the sixth straight game a UH starter did not reach five innings.
The Rainbows (7-13, 2-9) committed three errors. It was their seventh consecutive multi-error game.
"We’re just beating ourselves, not doing the things we should be doing," UH first baseman Danny Kimura said.
Hawai‘i will try to avert a sweep and a record-breaking 10th loss in a row at 1 p.m. today. Hawai‘i’s Jeff Coleman (1-3, 3.79 ERA) will face Rice’s Jonathan Gonzalez (3-1, 2.63).
While the Rainbows were streaking downward, the third-ranked Owls picked up their fifth straight win, all in this state. The Owls, who swept UH-Hilo last week, got 11 hits, seven of them for extra bases.
Third baseman Hunter Brown extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a three-run home run in a five-run fifth that saw the Owls bat around.
Second baseman Enrique Cruz, brother of Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Cruz (a former Owl and son of the ex-major leaguer of the same name), had two doubles, one to start the game in a three-run first inning to stretch his hitting streak to nine games.
Rice starter Jon Skaggs (5-0) won his 11th straight decision spanning two seasons. He wasn’t and didn’t need to be particularly sharp, as he walked five and allowed six hits, while striking out seven.
The Rainbows even lost a dispute. After closing Rice’s lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the third inning, UH had runners at first and second with no out when Chad Boudon hit a chopper in front of the plate. Hawai‘i coach Carl Furutani said the umpires told him Boudon was out for making contact with the ball outside of the batter’s box. That also meant the runners had to return to their previous bases. It was a judgment call, which can’t be protested, but Furutani said he protested the rule, forcing the umpires to convene off the field. Since it also started to rain during the dispute, grounds crews had to dry the pitcher’s mound, causing about a 20-minute delay in total. The umpires returned to show Furutani the rule.
"I wanted to see that in the book, just to make them work a little bit," Furutani said. "They had to get the book and show me the rule."
Errors and a pass ball accounted for four unearned runs for UH pitching. In the five-run fifth, second baseman Matthew Purtell misplayed a grounder that might have led to an inning-ending double play with only one run scoring. But Brown exploited the error by following with his three-run homer.
Later in the game, third baseman Patrick Scalabrini’s two-out throwing error brought in two runs for the Owls.
Yamashita had a throwing error in the first on a pick-off attempt that scored a run.
"When you’re in a streak like this, things happen," Furutani said. "We just have to weather this, try to overcome all these little things that are going against us. We take care of that ground ball, we’re out of the inning."
The Rainbows revamped a part of their lineup with left-handed hitters Aaron Pribble at designated hitter and Kevin Gilbride in right field. They are likely to sit against the left-handed Gonzalez today.
Catcher Brian Bock started and responded with an RBI single and a double before being lifted for pinch runner Jacob Flick in the fourth. Bock has an ailing shoulder and was eventually going to be replaced during the game, Furutani said.
