LaTech hands UH fourth loss in row

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

It was Military Appreciation Night and the University of Hawai'i baseball team donned camouflage tops in keeping with the theme. But unlike the America's Armed Forces, the Rainbows lacked fire power in a 3-1 loss to Louisiana Tech in a battle of Western Athletic Conference teams trying escape the cellar.

The fifth-place Bulldogs (17-30-1 overall, 9-16 WAC) opened their lead to two games over the last-place Rainbows (26-24, 7-18) in the WAC in front of 1,553 at Les Murakami Stadium. It was UH's fourth consecutive loss.

Jon Lockwood (3-3) fired a three-hitter, allowing an unearned run, for his first complete game of the season. He struck out four and walked one.

Lockwood had been working on a splitter and used it regularly for the first time last night. The only run he allowed was when Josh Green reached on second baseman Brandon Haygood's fielding error, took second when Isaac Omura singled to right, advanced on a sacrifice by Brian Finegan, and scored when Andrew Sansaver grounded out to second.

"Today was the first time I really relied on it as a second pitch," Lockwood said. "I mainly threw the split-finger to lefties."

Lockwood said winning the series opener was crucial.

"It gives us momentum the next few games," the 6-foot-2, 205-pound right-hander said. "It helps the other pitchers trust their stuff, you can do well, throw strikes,win the game."

Meanwhile, UH starter Ricky Bauer (3-5) was a victim of lack of run support. He allowed three runs on 11 hits, and hit three batters in 6¡ innings. The Rainbows have scored eight runs in his past four starts; the team has split those four games.

"For whatever reason, Ricky pitches good enough to win, but he doesn't get a chance to because we just don't play well enough to get it done," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "To me it was pretty disappointing the whole night. Obviously, (Lockwood) pitched well. Boy, you get three hits at home, that's disappointing."

Bauer admitted disappointment about the lack of runs, but understood that if he is the Friday starter, he is also facing the opponent's ace.

"You have to put it in perspective," Bauer said. "Everybody's out there trying; they're facing their best guy, so you only hope for the best."

Bauer and Lockwood engaged in a scoreless duel for five innings. But in the top of the sixth, the Bulldogs struck for two runs.

Wade Robinson led off with a ground double down the right-field line, and took third on Kyle Humphreys' bunt single to third. Bauer got Ben Tabor to ground to shortstop for a double play, allowing Robinson to break the scoreless deadlock. But Bauer hit Jeff Walker with a pitch. Jeremy Alford went in to pinch run, stole second, and scored on Ryan Jackson's double to left to make it 2-0.

The Rainbows got the unearned run in the bottom of the sixth to cut their deficit in half. But the Bulldogs added insurance in the seventh. With one out, John Brandon singled to left-center, Fairon Allen was hit by a pitch, and Robinson reached on a single to short to load the bases. That ended Bauer's night. Rich Olsen relieved him and got Humphreys to hit a grounder to short for a force at third. Brandon scored on the play to make it 3-1.

After Omura's single in the sixth, Lockwood retired 12 of the last 13 batters. Brian Bock doubled to lead off the eighth, but was stranded there.

Notes: UH second baseman Isaac Omura, who bats ninth, had two of UH's three hits . . . UH pitcher Ricky Bauer will pitch for the Brewster Whitecaps of the prestigious Cape Cod League, a collegiate summer league that draws tops prospects. "It's an honor to go there," he said. "That's where I wanted to go." The batters in the league use wooden bats.

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