Updated at 10:09 p.m., Saturday, March 24, 2007
Nevada tops Hawaii in WAC baseball, 5-4
Advertiser Staff
Shaun Kort's three-run double capped a four-run outburst in the top of the seventh to help Nevada rally by Hawaii, 5-4, tonight to even the Western Athletic Conference series at 1 before 2,327 Les Murakami Stadium.Mike Renfree (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief for Nevada. Mario Rivera gave up two runs in two innings for his second save.
Craig Johnson (0-1) gave up two runs on two hits in 2/3 of an inning of relief for UH (20-9, 1-1 WAC).
Mark Rodrigues went six innings, allowing a run, eight hits and a walk with two strikeouts for the Rainbows.
Rod Scurry went 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs, four hits and three walks with three strikeouts for the Wolf Pack (14-13, 1-1).
Hawai'i jumped on Scurry in the first. Jon Hee led off with a single to right before Derek DuPree flied out to center. Justin Frash walked and Brandon Haislet singled to right score Hee and send Frash to third. Haislet stole second when Kris Sanchez struck out. Eli Christensen grounded out to short to end the inning with UH ahead, 1-0.
The Wolf Pack tied it in the fourth. With one out, Daniel Eastham singled and one out later took second on Shaun Kort's single. Konrad Schmidt grounded a hard single off shortstop Eli Christensen to score Eastham to tie the game at 1, as Kort stopped at second. Nick Sansone walked to load the bases, but Rodrigues struck out David Ciarlo to end the inning.
The Rainbows regained the lead in the sixth. With one out, Frash was hit by a pitch, took second on a passed ball and scored on Haislet's double to left-center to make it 2-1. Sanchez and Chrstensen walked to end Scurry's night for left-hander Jarad Mitchell to face the left-handed hitting Evan Zimny, who struck out. After running a 1-0 count on the right-handed hitting Landon Hernandez, Mitchell was pulled for the right-handed Matt Renfree. Herandez popped to short to leave the bases loaded.
Craig Johnson started the seventh for UH, getting the first two batters on foul pops. But successive singles by Jason Rodriguez and pinch hitter Jacob Kaup chased Johnson for the right-handed Tyler Davis. The Wolf Pack responded by sending up left-handed pinch hitter Mike Hale, whose opposite-field single to left scored Rodriguez to tie the game at 2. Davis then hit Suleski with a pitch to load the bases. Kort broke the deadlock with a bases-clearing double to left to give Nevada a 5-2 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth against Rivera, pinch hitter Ryan Asato led off with a walk. Zimny flew out to left, but Hernandez singled to right to put runners at first and second. Vinnie Catricala doubled home two runs to pull UH to 5-4. Hee grounded out to short to move pinch runner Matt Roquemore to third. But DuPree grounded out to short to end the inning.
