Nevada edges UH to win WAC series

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Carlos Madrid's solo home run in the top of the eighth inning pretty much summed up yesterday's Western Athletic Conference baseball game.

Hawai'i's Brent Cook, left, was tagged out by Nevada's JaRell McIntyre in a rundown between home and third in the fifth inning. Jeff WIdener • The Honolulu Advertiser

Rainbows pitcher Aaron Pribble, who gave up the homer to left, said he threw the pitch where he wanted it: down and inside. "I threw it where I wanted it to," he said. "He just hit it. I tip my cap to him."

Madrid, a 6-foot, 165-pound freshman who bats ninth, thought otherwise. "They were throwing me away (earlier)," he said. "I think he missed a little because it was down the middle."

Rainbows coach Mike Trapasso added that on most days Madrid's hit is a pop out. Except yesterday, when Kona winds were blowing toward left.

It was that kind of day for the Rainbows (13-22, 2-7 WAC), who dropped their second in a row to the Wolf Pack (16-16, 4-5). Nothing, it seemed, went UH's way.

Trailing 3-1, the Rainbows took the lead for the first time with a three-run fifth inning that could have been more.

Brent Cook led off with a single to right, stole second and moved to third when center fielder Josh Laidlaw dropped Gregg Omori's fly ball. That got Nevada starter James Holcomb out. Left-hander Bryan Johnson came in to face Derek Honma with runners at the corners with no out. Honma hit a fly out to right fielder Mike Hass.

The ball wasn't deep enough to tag, but when Cook saw that Hass' throw was going to be high and that the pitcher backing up home wasn't where he was supposed to be, he tagged up and went about half way to home. But the errant throw went up toward the third base line, where Holcomb was, chasing Cook back to third. The ensuing rundown that had three throws between home and third finally got Cook out for the double play. Omori went from first to third during the rundown.

"The pitcher's not where he's supposed to be," Trapasso said. "He's standing right there, about five feet behind the catcher and ends up catching that ball and that's what cost us ... It was just one of those freak things"

With two out and Omori on third, Scooter Martines walked and Tim Montgomery singled to left to score Omori and put runners at first and second. After a balk moved the runners up, Brian Bock's two-run single to center gave UH a 4-3 lead. But Julian Russell flied to right to end the inning, which might have kept going if Cook wasn't caught in the rundown.

"You can't say he's done anything wrong," Trapasso said of Cook. "But the reality is you still have to be aware of everybody and where they are."

A precursor of UH's misfortune came in the second inning, when it was denied an extra run on Arthur Guillen's ground-rule double to left center. Russell, who was on first, returned to third when the ball bounced over the fence. He would have easily scored had the ball stayed in play.

Meanwhile, freshman Ricky Bauer pitched well enough to give the Rainbows a chance to catch up. Although his pitch count was relatively low at 75 after five innings, there were signs his pitches were getting up, as all three outs in the sixth were fly outs. Nevada made him pay for it in the seventh.

Hass led off with a ground rule double, took third on Mike Gillies' ground out to first and scored on Craig Markel's single to left. After Tony Cappuccilli singled to left to put runners at first and second, Pribble came in to get the final two outs, but the Wolf Pack tied the game at 4.

Pribble got the first two outs in the eighth by striking out Erick Streelman and getting Matt Maguire on a foul pop out to first. Madrid then hit Pribble's first offering over the left field fence. It was the only run Pribble (2-3) allowed in 2 2/3 innings of relief.

Bauer allowed four runs on nine hits and three walks with six strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.

"We pitched well enough to win," Trapasso said. "Even the home run, that didn't cost us the game. What cost us the game was not being able to score off the lefty when they brought him in from the bullpen."

Johnson (3-2) allowed two runs, four hits and three walks in five innings for the Wolf Pack.

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