Hawai'i took advantage of uncharacteristically wild Rice pitching for a 7-5 win in a battle of the top two Western Athletic Conference baseball teams.

A crowd of 2,167 — second largest of the season to the 2,814 that attended the second game of the season against Texas — watched preseason All-America pitcher Philip Humber hit five batters. Two came with the bases loaded to force in runs and another eventually scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch for the third-ranked Owls (16-2, 34-8).

Rice's only two WAC losses are to UH, which closed to 5 1/2 game of the Owls. The Rainbows won 1 of 3 at Rice earlier in the season.

Fans stood and cheered wildly when Guy McDowell had a one-ball, two-strike count on Adam Hale, who grounded out to second for the final out of the game.

"I was really, really pumped for this," said designated hitter Greg Kish, who had missed the previous six games with an ankle sprain. "I wasn't a hundred percent. It was all adrenaline and the excitement of the game."

"I'm just pumped up right now," said third baseman Schafer Magana, who scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch after reaching on a, you guessed it, a hit batsman. "Hopefully, we can keep it going and win the series."

Ricky Bauer (8-2) allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hits, a walk and a hit batsman with three strikeouts. McDowell used only 12 pitches in two perfect innings of relief for this third save.

Hawai'i coach Mike Trapasso said Kish was a last-minute add to the starting lineup, when the outfielder convinced the coach he could play. The Rainbows (11-8 WAC, 28-16 overall) entered the game with Kish doubtful and outfielder Robbie Wilder questionable.

Then catcher Creighton Kahoali'i injured his knee after a lead-off triple in the second inning. He was eventually replaced by center fielder Matt Inouye, who had a sore left arm after getting hit by a pitch in UH's three-run fifth inning. Both catchers' status won't be known until just before tonight's game.

"We're dropping like flies," Trapasso said. "Creighton goes down and when we bring Inouye in (from center to catcher), I'm almost despondent because now I know we're bringing Wilder in, who said before the game he was about 70 percent and after a couple innings, said (his hamstring) was about to pop on him."

Kahoali'i's injury and a pinch-hitting appearance by Nate Thurber eventually had UH with not its strongest outfield defense. Thurber, who only played outfield against Hawai'i Pacific on Tuesday, went to left, Josh Green moved from right (his natural position) to center and left fielder Jaziel Mendoza moved to right.

Humber (9-2), who entered the game with a 1.41 earned run average and had hit four batters in his previous 76 2/3 innings, was off from the start. He hit UH leadoff batter Brian Finegan and Inouye in the first inning, but escaped unscathed.

But in the fifth, Humber walked Kish to start the inning and, one out later, gave up a single to Finegan. After a wild pitch advanced the runners, he walked Andrew Sansaver. Then he hit Inouye and Mendoza on successive first pitches to force in runs that pulled UH to 5-4 before Isaac Omura's RBI single off second baseman Josh Rodriguez scored the tying run.

In the sixth, Magana was hit by a pitch to start the inning, took second on Kish's sacrifice and, after Green flied out to left, advanced to third on the first wild pitch to Finegan. On a 3-1 count, Magana scored on a wild pitch on ball four to put UH ahead 6-5.

Humber was lifted after striking out the first two batters in the seventh. He was charged with six runs, five earned, on five hits, two walks and seven strikeouts. He also had three wild pitches (he had two entering the game).

The Rainbows got insurance in the eighth on a two-out, bloop single to left by Sansaver.

"Obviously, we had some help, but we took advantage of it," Trapasso said. "You're not going to see Phil Humber have a game like that again, so you have to take advantage of the opportunity. And putting four zeroes at the end was key."

Notes: There are fewer than 700 tickets remaining for tonight's 6:35 game. Stephen Bryant (7-3, 2.39) will start for UH against Rice's Wade Townsend (9-0, 1.28).