Baseball 'Bows win 6th in row
By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
How sweep it is!
Justin Costi pitched eight innings of six-hit ball and Derek Dupree ignited a pair of three-run innings with a 3-for-5 performance as Hawai'i beat Nevada, 8-0, last night to complete its second consecutive Western Athletic Conference series sweep.
So elated was Costi, he added a word to the dictionary.
"To sweep twice in any season is awesome," he said. "To do it today was one of the most awesomest (sic) things we did all year."
Added Dupree: "We needed to sweep. We need to win from here on out."
The Rainbows (24-23 overall, 11-10 WAC) moved into sole possession of second place in the conference, two games behind Rice (13-8) before 2,911 at Les Murakami Stadium.
The Owls beat Fresno State, 10-2, yesterday. With Louisiana Tech beating San Jose State, Nevada (20-20, 9-9) dropped into a tie for third place with the Spartans (10-10).
The six-game win streak is the longest of the season for UH, which opened the series in fifth place. The Rainbows have nine games left, with their final homestand May 12 to 14 against Fresno State. They close on the road at Rice and Louisiana Tech.
Costi (2-4) gave the Rainbows what they needed after they depleted their bullpen to win the first two games of the series. He matched a season-high eight innings, walking two and striking out four for his first winning decision since March 5, when he beat Louisiana Tech in which he also pitched eight innings.
Costi used 128 pitches, the most by any UH pitcher this season and one of the rare times a UH pitcher reached the 120-pitch plateau since Mike Trapasso took over the program four seasons ago.
"I felt good because I throw a lot of changeups," Costi said. "It isn't strenuous on my arm. My changeup did the job."
He had thrown 96 pitches through six innings. In the sixth, he allowed a hard single up the middle, a fly to deep center and line out to shortstop before striking out the last batter. Costi came back strong in the seventh, getting two groundouts and a strikeout. After the Rainbows posted a three-run seventh, he returned for the eighth inning, when he allowed a double, but got a flyout and two groundouts.
A fourth-inning throwing error by shortstop Joe Spiers was the first for UH since April 17 against Rice, snapping a six-game errorless streak.
"We had one error, but they did the job on defense," Costi said.
Rich Olsen pitched a perfect ninth to finish off the Wolf Pack, who have lost seven of their past eight.
Trapasso considered taking Costi out after UH scored three runs in the seventh. "We were planning on sending him out, regardless," he said. "He was still throwing very well. He said he felt great. When we got the three, I thought about taking him out then. With the seven-run lead, I thought Olsen could give us two. But the last hitter was the last hitter (he faced). If the last guy he faced got on, we were going to bring in Olsen."
Dupree jumped-started UH's offense against Nevada starter Travis Sutton (2-4), who gave up seven runs on eight hits and three walks with two strikeouts in 6á innings.
Dupree's one-out double in the third paved the way for UH's first three-run inning. He took third on Spiers' single to left and scored on Erik Ammon's bunt single down the first-base line. A wild pitch allowed Spiers to take third, but Ammon held first as the ball was not that far from the catcher. Isaac Omura then reached on a grounder to first for a force at second that scored Spiers. After Nate Thurber's single sent Omura to second, Schafer Magana's run-scoring double made it 3-0.
Dupree's one-out single in the seventh started the other three-run inning. After taking second when Spiers grounded out to shortstop, Ammon walked, setting up Omura's RBI single to left and ending Sutton's night. Thurber and Magana followed with RBI singles against Wesley Dorsett to complete the scoring in the inning.
"It just took time to get used to everything," Dupree said of his recent success at the plate.
Said Trapasso: "He's getting comfortable at the plate. He's in there because he plays tremendous center field for us, but now he's getting bunts down, moving runners over and now getting base hits. I'm happy for him."
The Rainbows scored single runs in the fifth and eighth innings. In the fifth, Spiers led off with a single, advanced to second on Ammon's sacrifice, took third when Omura flied out to deep center and scored on a wild pitch.
In the eighth, Matt Inouye led off with a single and, one out later, reached third when Dupree's chop single off second baseman Carlos Madrid's glove rolled toward the foul line. A fielding error by shortstop Robert Marcial scored Inouye.
The Rainbows have a week off before returning to action May 12 against Fresno State.
Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8042
