honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 4:59 p.m., Friday, June 2, 2006

UH to play Wright State in elimination game

Advertiser Staff

The University of Hawai'i baseball team will play Wright State in an elimination game Saturday in the NCAA Regional Baseball Tournament at Corvallis, Ore.

Oregon State scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat Wright State, 5-3, in the second game today of the regional.

Wright State (32-26) is the Horizon League champion.

Earlier today, Kansas used the long ball to overcome an early 5-0 deficit and defeat the Rainbows, 9-6.

The loss dropped UH (43-16) into a 10 a.m. game in which the loser will be eliminated from the tournament.

In UH's loss, Kansas hit four homers to fuel its comeback.

UH got single runs in the first and second innings and three in the third before Kansas came back against emergency starter Justin Costi.

Costi took the spot of Steven Wright, who is suffering from worsening flu-like symptoms and was not at Goss Stadium. He might not be available for the rest of the weekend.

Costi gave up a three-run homer to Erik Morrison in the bottom of the third that made it 5-3.

Matt Daly replaced Costi with runners on second and third in the fourth and allowed a sacrifice fly to make it 5-4.

In the bottom of the sixth, Daly gave up a bases-empty homer to Buck Afenir, and Jared Schweitzer hit a two-run homer off Tyler Davis to give Kansas its first lead at 7-5.

Davis allowed a bases-empty homer to Ryne Price in the seventh to make it 8-5 and a run-scoring single made it 9-5.

Meanwhile, the UH bats went silent.

A Jonathan Hee single in the eighth was UH's first hit since the third inning. He eventually scored on a Justin Frash groundout that made it 9-6.

The game started well offensively for the Rainbows.

UH scored in the first inning on a bases-loaded walk to Matt Inouye that scored Robbie Wilder.

A Wilder single in the second scored Kris Sanchez to make it 2-0.

But Kansas starter Kodiak Quick avoided a big inning by getting out Luis Avila with the bases filled in the second.

In the top of the third, UH scored three runs on hits Eli Christensen and Hee and a wild pitch that scored Sanchez for a 5-0 lead.

Costi avoided Kansas threats, by stranding a runner on third in the first and a bases filled in the second.

But he couldn't escape damage in the third.

After Morrison's homer, Kansas put two more runners on before getting Afenir to ground out.

In the fourth, Costi gave up a single and double and was replaced by Daly.