UC Irvine makes most of UH errors in victory
By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i baseball coach Mike Trapasso warned that this season would have peaks and valleys.
After last night's 12-5 loss to UC Irvine, the Les Murakami Stadium crowd of 1,145 knows where the Rainbows are at now.
The Rainbows (6-9) matched season highs in runs allowed and errors committed (six), allowing 10 unearned runs in dropping their third consecutive game. The Anteaters (11-9), who snapped a five-game skid with a win at Pepperdine on Wednesday, extended their win streak to three.
Trapasso would not disclose what he told his team during a close-door, 44-minute meeting following the game. He usually has about a five-minute meeting on the field after games.
"We didn't play with heart," Trapasso said. "We had some adversity because (third baseman Brent) Cook was sick, but we let every situation, everything bad that could happen, we just let it completely affect us and let the game come to us. The minute things started going south, we gave in to it.
"We're not playing with the fight, up until 10 days ago, this team was known for. That was the No. 1 positive about this team."
Trapasso said there might be some changes in starters; even before Cook was scratched, Trapasso's original lineup, particularly the order, was different from previous games.
"We're going to play guys that have some heart, if not to prove a point," he said. "But I'm still proud of these guys because they work hard and they usually come with passion. But we have some guys who are starting to feel sorry for themselves. That's something I have zero tolerance for."
Brett Smith (2-0) allowed four runs in seven-plus innings for the Anteaters; UH starter Aaron Pribble, a victim of the errors, lasted 1á innings, allowing nine runs, with only two being earned on a second-inning two-run home run by Chris Miller.
The night got off to an inauspicious start, as Cook, who entered the game as the team's leading hitter at .379, was scratched because of a bout with the flu. So the Rainbows came out with a revamped lineup, as shortstop Cortland Wilson moved to third and freshman Jason Carlson made his starting debut at shortstop.
The Anteaters didn't take long to exploit UH's left side. The first two batters of the game — Jordan Szabo and Matt Anderson — bunted to third. Szabo reached on a single and Anderson reached safely on a two-base throwing error on a sacrifice to put runners at second and third.
Then it was Carlson who got exploited. Miller hit a grounder to Carlson to score Szabo, but Carlson's throw to third was low, allowing Anderson to score.
The Anteaters eventually sent 10 batters to the plate in a five-run first inning in which all of the runs were unearned. They then sent eight batters up in the second in a four-run inning in which two of the runs were unearned on a two-out throwing error by Carlson as UCI took a 9-0 lead.
The Rainbows chipped away against Smith, getting single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings, but the Anteaters got three more unearned runs on errors by second baseman Lane Nogawa and Carlson, his fourth miscue of the night.
The Rainbows got a run in the eighth after Schafer Magana doubled and took third on Scooter Martines' single. They executed a home-second double steal for the run.
If anything, Trapasso got to give work to up-and-coming freshmen pitchers Ricky Bauer (3 unearned runs in 5¡ innings) and Jason Piepmeier (one scoreless inning).
Also, nearly every starter was lifted at some point in the game. Only designated hitter Kevin Gilbride and right fielder Tim Montgomery played the entire game.
Non-starters getting shots to play were second baseman Danny Mocny, center fielder Craig Johnson, third baseman Magana, pinch-hitter Jeffrey Rhode, catcher Grady Symonds and shortstop Julian Russell.
The Rainbows will try to avert a sweep at 1:05 p.m. today. Chris George (0-0, 5.79) will pitch for UH against UCI's Paul French (1-3, 5.97).
