Rainbows advance with 14-0 triumph
By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
Steven Wright and two relievers collaborated on a two-hitter to lead Hawai'i over Chicago State, 14-0, last night to advance to tonight's championship of the First Hawaii Title Rainbow Tournament.
The semifinal ended after the top of the seventh inning because of the tournament's 10-run differential rule. It was the third time in the tournament the Cougars had their game end by the mercy rule. It was the second time UH beat CSU by the mercy rule in the tournament; the Rainbows won Tuesday, 12-1.
In the other semifinal, Oregon State defeated The Citadel, 3-2.
A Les Murakami Stadium crowd of 1,172 watched the two games.
The Rainbows (4-0 in the tournament, 13-7 overall) will play Oregon State (2-2, 10-3) at 6:35 tonight, while Chicago State (0-4, 0-7) will face The Citadel (2-2, 4-6) in the third-place game at 2 p.m.
Last night was dramatically different for Wright, a highly-touted freshman right-hander who was drafted in the 26th round by the San Diego Padres out of high school last year.
In his last outing, he was tagged for three runs on three hits and two walks in 1á innings of relief in a 14-1 loss to San Francisco on Feb. 28. Last night, he threw 53 pitches, 39 for strikes. He had seven ground-ball outs and two infield pop outs. Wright said he and pitching coach Chad Konishi spent the past couple of days working on his mechanics.
"(I was working) on my posture," Wright said. "It's pretty good right now. I have a lot of work to do."
Rainbows coach Mike Trapasso was pleased with what he saw last night.
"He was generally down, and he threw his off-speed for strikes all night," Trapasso said. "He was throwing three pitches for strikes, which is very good."
"My fastball (was effective)," Wright said. "I was keeping it low and it worked out pretty good. It just opened the door for my curveball and my changeup."
He said he hasn't done anything different from when he was at Valley View High, where he was an all-Southern Section California Interscholastic Federation selection.
"I had a little fall-off," he said. "I got a little rusty. I'm just starting to get back in the groove, and it's kind of hard to do that during the season because every time I go out there it means something."
Freshmen left-handers Matt Buck and Kaimi Mead pitched the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, to preserve the shutout, the third of the season for the Rainbows. Buck pitched a perfect sixth, and Mead allowed a two-out single in the seventh.
The pitchers got a lot of help from the offense. The Rainbows jumped on CSU starter Ravell Moss (0-1) for 10 runs on nine hits and three walks in 2á innings. The Rainbows sent 14 batters to the plate in a nine-run third inning. It was the second time UH scored nine in an inning, the previous happening on Feb. 22 in a 14-5 win against UH-Hilo.
Andrew Sansaver was 3 for 3, each hit driving in a run. Rocky Russo had a three-run double.
Robbie Wilder was 1 for 1, and scored three times and stole two bases. However, he pulled a hamstring while scoring from second base on a passed ball in the nine-run third inning. He is day-to-day, Trapasso said. Wilder said he is unlikely to play today.
Wilder was the only substitution for injury. The Rainbows replaced six other starters in the game. Only Jaziel Mendoza remained in left and catcher Creighton Kahoali'i, who later played third, played the whole game.
NOTES: Third base umpire Keoki Torres had to leave the game because an moth got lodged in his ear. He said it had to be flushed out, but otherwise he said he was OK. ... Retiring UH women's basketball coach Vince Goo threw out the ceremonial first pitch before last night's game.
OREGON STATE 3, THE CITADEL 2: Chris Campos' three-run homer in the top of the eighth inning rallied the Beavers into tonight's championship.
Note: The Citadel coach Fred Jordan, who was ejected in Thursday's game against UH, sat out yesterday's game per Southern Conference rule that states any player or coach ejected from a game is suspended for the remainder of the game he was ejected from and the next game. Assistant Chris Lemonis served as interim coach. Chief umpire Gary Montalbo said the ejection was for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser. com or 525-8042.
