Posted at 9:30 p.m., Monday, May 21, 2007
Rainbows end home season with 1-0 win over FSU
Advertiser Staff
Justin Frash's RBi single with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted Hawai'i past Fresno State, 1-0, tonight to clinch the Western Athletic Conference baseball series 2-1 at Les Murakami Stadium.The Rainbows (33-23 overall, 11-13 WAC) closed out the regular season before 1,603. The Bulldogs (32-37, 17-7) still head to this week's WAC tournament as the top seed.
Tyler Davis (6-2) pitched three scoreless innings of relief for UH.
FSU starter Holden Sprague pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
UH starter Nick Rhodes, making his first start since April 25 at Arizona State, where he gave up four runs in one-third of an inning, allowed no runs in six-plus innings. He allowed five hits and two walks with four strikeouts.
Both teams squandered opportunites to score in the fourth. The Bulldogs had second and third with no outs after a single and two-base error, but Tommy Mendonca fouled out to third, Alan Ahmady struck out and Ryan Overland grounded out to second. The Rainbows got a lead-off triple from Justin Frash, but Kris Sanchez popped out to short and Kevin Macdonald reached on a fielder's choice grounder to third in which Frash was thrown out at the plate and Brandon Haislet grounded into a force to end the inning.
The Rainbows also had another chance in the sixth, when Jon Hee led off with a double, but he was picked off second after Jorge Franco missed a bunt attempt for a strike. Frash then grounded a single off second base before Sanchez lined out to second.
In the UH eighth, Hee singled with two outs against Brandon Miller. Landon Hernandez came in to pinch hit for Franco. The Bulldogs pulled Miller for Jason Breckley, who walked Hernandez to put runners at first and second. Frash then singled off the first baseman's glove with the ball deflected toward second baseman Erik Wetzel, whose throw to the plate was late as Hee scored.
