The team that dyed together picked up for each other last night.

After losing its ace starting pitcher to injury, bleached-haired Hawai'i picked up Jared Alexander with insurance runs and strong relief pitching from redshirt freshman Sam Spangler to fight off feisty Sacramento State, 8-3, last night to take the opener of the four-game Western Athletic Conference baseball series.

The Rainbows (22-24 overall, 14-11 WAC) took a 4-0 lead into the sixth, when Taylor Watanabe and Ryan Blair each singled to start the inning. Alexander's first pitch to David Flores was fouled off. Then the Les Murakami Stadium crowd of 1,755 watched the pitcher signal his bench that something was wrong.

"He felt some discomfort, so we took him out," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "We didn't want to take any chances. He's going to have an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) tomorrow. We'll just have to wait and see what that says."

Cory Kahn was brought in and allowed unlimited warmup tosses because it was an injury substitution. After retiring Flores on a fly to left, things started to rattle. Gabe Jacobo swung and missed on a 2-2 count, but Kahn was called for a balk, nullifying the strikeout as the runners advanced to second and third.

With new life, Jacobo singled home a run and Wes Oberlin did the same to pull the Hornets to 4-2. Kahn was lifted for left-handed Spangler, who got the left-handed hitting Tim Wheeler on a fly to the left-center alley that was tracked down by left fielder Matt Roquemore. But Jeff Hannah's RBI double pulled the Hornets to within 4-3 before Blake Crosby flied out to right.

But the Rainbows dulled any momentum the Hornets (19-25, 10-10 WAC) might have picked up by getting one run in the bottom of the sixth on a two out, RBI single to short by Brandon Haislet, and then by posting three in the seventh on sacrifice flies by Landon Hernandez and Jon Hee and an RBI single by Haislet.

After the inning, Trapasso spoke to the players in the dugout.

"I got the guys together and told them this is a bit of adversity that you gotta expect," Trapasso said. "Especially when you play a team that swings the bat like this. (The Hornets had 11 hits.) We're in a dog fight. We have to be professional and do our jobs and our job is to win the game. We've got to get some of the runs back and we've got to find somebody to step up on the mound and put up zeros. So I was really, really happy with Sam, the way he got the job done."

"It's always important to answer," UH catcher Landon Hernandez said. "You gotta score at least one, show'em that you're not dead."

Alexander (7-3) went five-plus innings, allowing two runs and six hits with five strikeouts. Kahn went a third of an inning, giving up a run. Spangler, who had been used recently to get left-handers out, went a season-long 3 2/3 innings, scattering three hits and striking out two for his first save. Moreover, he didn't walk anyone.

"Today he had to get extended," Trapasso said. "It was huge, what he did just to save our bullpen."

Spangler said he worked on a "toe tap" with pitching coach Chad Konishi. As he's ready to deliver his pitch, he taps his toe and lifts his leg again as he releases the pitch. He said it allows his arm to release the pitch in front.

"Ever since Coach K taught me that, I've been throwing strikes," Spangler said.

The game started as a pitchers' duel between Alexander and Sacramento State's Jose Ramirez. It was scoreless until the fourth, when the Rainbows got a single by Vinnie Catricala, who was 3 for 4 and extended his hit streak to 14, and a chop double over first base by Greg Garcia to put runners at second and third to set up Hernandez's two-run, ground-rule double to right-center.

"I was just trying to let the ball get deep (closer to the plate) and lift something because there's still runners in scoring position," Hernandez said.

The series continues with a doubleheader at 1:05 p.m. today. Nick Rhodes will pitch the opener, but Trapasso is deciding between Alex Bates, the scheduled starter, and Matt Daly, who has been starting the fourth games when available.