Posted on: Sunday, February 22, 2004

UH-Manoa hammers UH-Hilo, 15-3

Hawai'i-Manoa set season highs in hits and runs to romp Hawai'i-Hilo, 15-3, last night.

Creighton Kahoali'i's first-inning grand slam ignited a 20-hit attack that helped the Rainbows (7-5) extend their winning streak to six in front of 1,359 at Les Murakami Stadium.

Andrew Sansaver was 4 for 5, and Matt Inouye batted 3 for 4, including a three-run homer in a six-run seventh, when the Rainbows had 10 hits from the 12 batters they sent to the plate.

Stephen Bryant (1-0) pitched his second effective start of the season. He allowed one hit over six-plus innings, retiring 13 in a row at one stretch. But he walked the first two batters on eight pitches to start the seventh and was relieved by Chuck Withers, making his season debut.

"I got tired and lost focus," Bryant said of his seventh-inning wildness, noting the Rainbows had long innings when they were at bat.

Bryant was charged with two runs from the seventh-inning walks and had five strikeouts. In his previous start, he pitched six innings against Florida International, allowing three runs, but all were unearned in a no-decision that the Rainbows eventually won, 5-4.

Scott Siegried (0-3) was charged with six runs on six hits and two walks in 4¡ innings for the Vulcans (4-13), losers of six straight.

Kahoali'i drilled Siegried's first offering foul and out of the park down the left-field line. But three pitches later, he ripped a fastball over the left-center field fence to put the Rainbows up 4-0 in the first. He said it was kind of special because he has ties to Siegfried.

"I've known the pitcher since we were eight- or nine-years-old," Kahoali'i said. "He's from where I'm from in Fremont (Calif.)."

Every Rainbow starter had at least one hit or scored at least one run. Designated hitter Nate Thurber was hitless, but scored twice.

The Rainbows got at least one hit off every one of the four UHH relievers. Austin Tobin took the brunt of the damage, allowing six runs on eight hits in one inning of work. Former Rainbow pitcher David Daniel, who red-shirted last year at Manoa, gave up three runs in 1¡ innings.

Rainbows coach Mike Trapasso cleared most of his starters after Inouye's three-run home run in the seventh.

Isaac Omura, in his first appearance since his mild ankle sprain Feb. 13 against FIU, was a defensive replacement for starter Schafer Magana at second base in the top of the eighth and led off the bottom with a single to center. But he was quickly lifted for pinch runner Andrew Castillo. Trapasso said Omura's ankle had tightened on his way to first. "He's still not a hundred percent," Trapasso said.

After Kahoali'i's slam, the Rainbows got single runs in the second on an RBI ground-rule double by Brian Finegan and an RBI single in the fifth by Sansaver. They added three in the sixth.

The Vulcans got all of their runs in the seventh. After Bryant's two walks, Withers came in and allowed a single to pinch hitter Ryan Taiariol to load the bases and walked David Chu to push across Hilo's first run. The other runs scored when Marc Caviglia grounded out to second with the bases loaded, and on an infield single to third by Daniel Rhodes.

The series concludes at 1:05 p.m. today. Clary Carlsen will start for Manoa against UHH's Brian Ebbs.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8042.