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This time, the dramatic ending favored the University of Hawaii baseball workforce.
A day after blowing a ninth-inning lead and dropping on a walk-off homer within the tenth, the Rainbow Warriors rebounded to carry off Long Beach State, 6-3, earlier than 2,459 at Blair Field on the LBSU campus.
“Just trying to get the fans their money’s worth, whether they’re listening to the radio or watching TV,” UH coach Rich Hill mentioned in a phone interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
It was Hill’s first Big West victory as UH head coach. The Dirtbags gained the primary two of this three-game sequence.
“To win on a Sunday after having your heart broken the day before and getting dominated the day before that, there were a lot of positives coming out of this weekend,” Hill mentioned. “We’re one strike away from a road-series victory against a previous No. 6 team in the country. I hope our guys believe in themselves and this team.”
The ’Bows managed two hits in a 4-0 loss on Friday. On Saturday, they blew a 4-2 lead once they walked 5 within the ninth inning.
On Sunday, they confronted two difficult conditions. Four Dirtbags had been hit by pitches in a two-run sixth inning to shut to 6-2. But with the bases loaded, Cameron Hagan fanned Chris Jimenez, who had the walk-off homer a day earlier.
“To me that was the magic moment when he struck out Jimenez on that full-count heater,” Hill mentioned of Hagan. “That was the difference between winning and losing right there. He struggled a little bit. He had some hit by pitches. But in a real at bat of consequence, he was able to come through with that strikeout.”
In the LBSU ninth, Rocco Peppi drew a two-out stroll and Jonathan Long blooped a single to left discipline. Cory Ronan, the fourth UH pitcher, struck out pinch hitter Isaac Ramirez to finish the sport.
Buddie Pindel, who earned the beginning for UH, pitched 5 scoreless innings — his longest stint of the 12 months.
“That’s the story of the day,” Hill mentioned of Pindel. “He’s been a little banged up. … You can’t say enough good things about him.”
Matt Wong hit his second house run in as many days and Jacob Igawa blasted a three-run homer to stake the Bows to a 6-0 lead.
Wong’s two-out homer within the third prolonged the ’Bows’ result in 3-0. “He’s really made some adjustments,” Hill mentioned. “His plate discipline got a whole lot better. He’s got more confidence. He’s a strong kid.”
After Scotty Scott and DallasJ Duarte reached within the fifth, Igawa adopted with a drive over the fence in left-center.
“That was great to see,” Hill mentioned of Igawa. “He’s made significant strides. It was a 3-0 pitch, and we gave him the green light. He didn’t get big. He stayed within himself, and crushed it over 400 feet.”
The solely disadvantage was reliever Tai Atkins’ struggles within the sixth, when he hit two of the 4 batters he confronted.
“We call it running into the desert a little bit,” Hill mentioned. “He’ll be fine. He’ll work out some things this week. He’ll be back on track.”
