For one day, the Bulldogs were Hawai'i's best friend.

Thanks to Fresno State's 6-3 win against top-seeded San Jose State yesterday, the Rainbows (32-25) just need to beat the Bulldogs in today's 3 p.m. eliminatiion game to advance to tomorrow's noon championship. If necessary, there is a playoff at 4 p.m.

The Rainbows revivied their title hopes, barely, when Vinnie Catricala's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted fifth-seeded Hawai'i over sixth-seeded Nevada, 5-4, yesterday in the first elimination game of the NAPA Auto Parts Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament at Les Murakami Stadium.

"We live to play one more day," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "That's all we're talking. One more game is all you're worried about, staying in the moment."

The Wolf Pack (25-31) were the first team ousted from the double-elimination tournament.

With the game knotted at 4 in the bottom of the 10th, left-hander Brock Stassi, who started at designated hitter, entered his second inning of relief.

After striking out Matt Roquemore for the first out, he walked Kevin Fujii, Ryan Morford and Greg Garcia to load the bases, bringing up Catricala, who took a first-pitch fastball for a strike before driving an off-speed pitch to right fielder Brett Hart. Fujii beat Hart's throw to the plate to end the game and UH's three-game losing skid.

"I was looking for a ball up," Catricala said. "I took that first fastball because he (just) threw four straight balls (to walk Garcia). I probably shouldn't have taken it because it was a good pitch, but after he got that one over for a strike, I knew the next one was going to be off-speed because he's an off-speed thrower."

Nate Klein (3-4), who allowed the tying run in the ninth, pitched four innings of relief, allowing four hits and a walk with three strikeouts. He came in for starter Matt Sisto, who gave up three runs, eight hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in six innings for the Rainbows.

Hawai'i took a 3-2 lead into the top of the ninth before nemesis Matt Bowman walked on four pitches with one out and scored the tying run on a two-out double by Shaun Kort. Bowman scored all four Nevada runs; the other three came when he led off innings with two singles and a double.

"We made great pitches against him and he hits every mistake you throw," Trapasso said. "And he's done that for four years. He's a great player."

Two of Bowman's hits came on 0-2 counts and another on an 0-1 pitch.

The win came about 14 hours after a devastating, 4-3 loss to Louisiana Tech on Clint Ewing's two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth. So it looked like deja vu, when the Rainbows gave up the tying run in the top of the ninth.

"Our guys stayed resilient," Trapasso said. "After last night, you could tell in our dugout guys were still hurting over that. To take another lead in the ninth and not getting a win then and there, a lot of teams not as strong mentally might fold. But after Klein puts up a zero in the 10th, we got some breaks. We score without getting a hit, but we've had a lot of breaks go against us the last couple of weeks, so you take the breaks that come your way."

Nevada took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on Kort's RBI double that scored Bowman, who led off the game with a single.

But the Rainbows got a gift two-run double from Kolten Wong in the bottom half of the first on a flare to left-center that center fielder Westley Moss couldn't handle after a long run that would've been a routine fly for left fielder Nick Melino.

"The key play of the game was us not making the play in left field," Nevada coach Gary Powers said. "That changed the complexion of the game. We had to fight through that the whole day. Unfortunately, we didn't do enough to come back."

Nevada tied it at 2 in the top of the third when Bowman singled, stole second and two outs later, scored on Tyson Jaqiuez's single to center.

But Catricala's two-out, solo home run to dead center over both walls in the bottom of the inning, put UH ahead, 3-2. Except that was negated when Bowman led off the fifth with a double and scored on Moss' single to left to tie the game at 3.

The Rainbows regained the lead in the seventh. Wong led off with a walk, was running with the pitch when Sean Montplaisir showed bunt than swung and hit a sharp grounder to charging third baseman Jaquez, who backhanded the shot about 50 feet from the plate and threw the batter out, as Wong made it to second. The left-handed hitting Christian Johnson then lined an RBI single to the opposite field off left-handed starter Chris Garcia.

After the Wolf Pack tied it in the ninth, they threatened in the 10th, when Stassi and Hart hit successive singles with one out. Michael Turay hit a liner toward the left-field line that left fielder Montplaisir hauled in for the second out. A wild pitch put the runners at second and third. But on a 1-2 count, Klein got Kevin Rodland called out on strikes with a curveball.

"These past two games kind of reminded me of the beginning of the season," Klein said of the team's roller coaster season. "We kind of kept it close and turned it on at the end of the game (yesterday). We were playing really well at the beginning of the season, so this is good for us, playing like this in the tournament, keeping the games close."

Because of injuries, the Rainbows start five left-handed hitters and they labored against Garcia and for at least the ninth inning, against Stassi. Overall, the UH left-handed hitters were a collective 2 for 18 against the southpaws. But the Rainbows' pitching kept the offense in striking range and saved the rest of the staff for their future games.

"We pitched really well two days in a row," Trapasso said. "Anytime you can give up a lot of hits and hold the runs down and get out-hit 12 to 5 and win, you're doing something right.

FRESNO STATE 6, SAN JOSE STATE 3

Dusty Robinson and Tom Mendonca hit back-to-back homer runs in the bottom of the sixth for tying and go-ahead runs to keep the Bulldogs alive in the tournament.

Fresno State (29-28) trailed 3-2 when Robinson and Mendonca started the inning with the homers off SJSU starter David Berner (7-2). Mendonca increased his team-leading home run total to 25, while Robinson is at 13.

Derek Benny (4-3) pitched a complete game for the Bulldogs, allowing three runs (two earned), nine hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Berner (7-2) was charged with four runs, 10 hits and a walk with three strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings for the Spartans (40-19).

SAN JOSE STATE (40-19) 011 001 000—3 9 1

FRESNO STATE (29-28) 011 002 20X—6 15 1

David Berner, Max Peterson (6), Trevor Gibson (7) and Anthony Aguilera. Derek Benny and Trent Garrison. W — Benny (4-3). L — Berner (7-2).

Leading hitters — San Jose State: John Shaffer 2-4; Jacob Bruns double; Danny Stienstra 2-4, double; Anthony Aguilera 2-3. Fresno State: Danny Muno 2-5; Dusty Robinson homer, 3 runs; Tommy Mendonca 3-4, double, homer, 2 runs, 2 RBIs; Jake Johnson 2-4, double; Gavin Hedstrom 3-3.