Gauchos tee off on UH pitchers, win 13-4
By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
California-Santa Barbara routed Hawai'i, 13-4, last night at the Verizon Rainbow Easter Baseball Tournament. But it was the Gauchos who felt embarrassed.
Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser
A crowd of 1,165 cranked the Rainbow Stadium turnstiles over yesterday's four games, but about 30 Gaucho supporters were the loudest. Too loud for even the team they were backing.
Hawai'i's Lane Nogawa slides safely into second base as Santa Barbara's Chad Peshke drops the ball in the first inning at Rainbow Stadium.
"I appreciate the support," UCSB coach Bob Brontsema said. "But this is ridiculous. I was embarrassed."
Brontsema and winning pitcher James Garcia both said they had not recognized any of the supporters, saying they had not seen them at any home games in Santa Barbara. There was continual high-pitched screaming by one person. Some of the fans might have been intoxicated, an apologetic Brontsema said.
"That's the first time I've ever seen them," Garcia said. "They made the trip. One of the guy's girlfriends brought a bunch of her friends. First time they've been screaming in mass numbers. But we need all the support we can get."
Garcia (4-1) got support where it mattered most: on the scoreboard. The Gauchos (15-7) tagged five UH pitchers for 13 runs on 16 hits to snap the Rainbows' modest four-game winning streak. Hawai'i starter Matt Le Ducq (1-3) allowed five runs in 3 1/3 innings. A four-run third inning set the tone as the Rainbows dropped to 12-17.
"It was that one bad inning," UH acting coach Carl Furutani said. "He got into a funk, giving up a four spot and just couldn't get out of it."
That is when the Gauchos sent nine batters to the plate. A bases-loaded walk by Chad Peshke, a bases-loaded infield single by Dave Molidor and a two-run single by Tyler Von Schell hurt Le Ducq. He was finally chased in the fourth after Jed Stringham led off with a triple, followed by a one-out walk by Jeff Carter. William Quaglieri got a force play to score Stringham.
But Le Ducq wasn't the only victim. The four relievers who followed all gave up at least one run each.
Garcia, meanwhile, pitched seven innings, allowing two runs, six hits and two walks, while striking out eight.
"Early in the game, I was locating (my pitches) well," the junior right-hander said. "My slider was working well. I felt I had pretty decent control and that's what helped me out."
The Rainbows put up protests in the seventh and ninth innings. A two-run double by Gregg Omori scored the first runs off Garcia. A two-run double by Danny Kimura in the ninth came off reliever Keith Kelley. Russell Wirth pitched a scoreless eighth between Garcia and Kelley.
The Rainbows will play Wichita State at 6:30 tonight, with Jeff Coleman (2-4) trying to become the first UH starter to reach three wins.
Warmup tosses: Radio broadcasts of tonight's through Saturday's games will be joined in progress after UH men's volleyball on KCCN (1420 AM). All of the UH games will be televised, except for tomorrow's 3 p.m. game against Centenary. The feature game against Kita-Kyushu at 6:35 p.m. will be aired.
• Lewis-Clark State 11, Centenary 1: J.R. Crider (5-0) allowed a run and four hits over seven innings to lead the Warriors (26-5). Mike Hicks hit a solo homer in the fifth to account for the only run for the Gents (11-19-1).
• Wichita State 7, Hawai'i Pacific 0: Justin Maureau and Tommy Hottovy combined on a three-hitter to lead the Shockers (16-9). Keola McCallum (2-2) allowed six runs in 5á innings for the Sea Warriors (16-12).
• Wichita State 10, Kita-Kyushu 4: Justin McCarty batted 2-for-3 with three RBIs and Don Rogers drove in two runs to propel the Shockers. Although the win counts toward the tournament record, it does not count in the Shockers' overall record.
