Hawai'i's dependable bull-pen had a meltdown and Louisiana Tech rallied for seven runs in the ninth inning for a stunning 10-9 win yesterday to earn a split of the Western Athletic Conference baseball series in Ruston, La.

Clint Ewing's pinch-hit, three-run home run was the third circuit clout of the ninth and sixth of the game for the Bulldogs (18-24 overall, 4-18 WAC), who have won successive conference games for the first time since they swept a doubleheader from San Jose State on March 29.

The Bulldogs also rallied from a 4-2 deficit in a 14-4 win of the second game of Saturday's doubleheader that was cut at seven innings because of the 10-run rule. Yesterday's rally denied the Rainbows (21-24, 13-11) from winning their fourth consecutive conference series.

The blown six-run lead spoiled a well-pitched game by UH starter Matt Daly, as well as a well-played game by the Rainbows offensively and defensively.

"It's disappointing because we played good enough to win," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "We really played a good game in all phases. Daly pitched great, (we) played good defense, squandered some opportunities early on offense, but ended up playing a good game offensively. All told, it was a well-played game on our part, but at the very end, we didn't get it done out of the bullpen and that's a shame. It's a hard lesson to learn. You have to play all nine innings. To shut down mentally, thinking the game's over, that's when the game will come back and get you."

Offensively, UH responded each time from the start to the middle of the game when the Bulldogs scored, eventually taking a 4-3 lead after six innings. A five-run eighth seemed to be a large enough insurance policy.

Daly was efficient, running three-ball counts only three times out of the 30 batters he faced in eight-plus innings. He walked only one and erased that runner on a double play in the fifth inning. Jericho Jones singled in the seventh, but was thrown out stealing. The three other hits Daly allowed before the ninth were solo home runs. In all, he was charged with allowing six runs and seven hits, while striking out four.

"He was good," Trapasso said. "I feel bad for him because he deserved better."

Daly was at 86 pitches entering the ninth, a low number for any pitcher at that juncture. But when he gave up three hits to start the ninth, including a two-run home run by Nick Grunenwald — his second of the game — to make it 9-5, Daly was pulled for a fresh Jayson Kramer, making his first appearance of the series, with a runner at first.

Chris Bohannan, a defensive replacement for the dangerous Jones (two home runs on Saturday), drilled a two-run homer to make it 9-7. Albie Goulder singled and Kramer was replaced by Cory Kahn. After a wild pitch moved Goulder to second, Kahn walked Chris Kersten.

Kahn (2-2) struck out Patrick Thomas for the first out of the inning before Ewing ended the game with his drive to center.

"Kramer had basically shut down mentally," Trapasso said. "He didn't think he was going to pitch, so when he got called on to pitch, he wasn't ready."

The Bulldogs used five pitchers in relief of starter Dylan Moseley. Alex Richard pitched on two different occasions when the Bulldogs used a double shift in UH's five-run eighth. Richard had pitched 1 2/3 innings before moving to left field when Landon Braud replaced him on the mound. Braud faced one batter, giving up Matt Roquemore's two-run triple, before Richard returned to the mound, only to face two batters before giving way permanently to John Anderson. Aaron Lorio (5-3) allowed two hits in a scoreless ninth.

Greg Garcia batted 4 for 5 and Landon Hernandez was 3 for 5 to lead Hawai'i's 16-hit offense. Roquemore, who started in left field because Sean Montplaisir had jammed his shoulder the night before, was 2 for 5 with three RBIs. Brandon Haislet and Kevin Macdonald each went 2 for 5 with two RBIs.