Box Score (html)
HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i baseball team moved into a tie for first place in the Western Athletic Conference with a 14-2 mercy rule win over New Mexico State on Friday night at Les Murakami Stadium. The Rainbows and Aggies are now tied atop the WAC standings at 7-4, as UH eyes the series sweep Saturday when the two teams meet in the finale.
The 'Bows (27-18) took advantage of a series of Aggie miscues, scoring their 14 runs on just nine hits off seven NMSU (30-16) pitchers. Starter Adam Mott (5-2) received the loss, working three innings and allowing four earned runs on five hits.
Max Duval recorded a game-high three RBI, two off a double as part of UH's six-run fifth inning.
Zack Swasey batted 2-4 with two runs and two RBI, and Pi'ikea Kitamura hit 2-4 with two runs and one RBI.
The run support was more than enough for
Jarrett Arakawa who improved to 6-4 with the win. He tossed his second complete game of the season, allowing two earned runs on five hits and equaling a career-high nine strikeouts.
The Rainbows set the tone early with a pair of runs in the first inning. After a solo homerun in the third inning by Cody Edwards (1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI) sliced the lead in half, UH responded with four in the bottom half of the inning and never looked back. Swasey and Breland Almadova (1 R, 2 RBI) both drove in runs, with the big play of the inning coming on Ventimilia's two-out grounder that went underneath the glove of third baseman Robert Lecount and pushed the lead to 6-1.
UH put the game out of reach and into mercy rule territory with six runs in the fifth inning. The Aggies threw three pitchers in the inning with Duval and
Trevor Podratz both ripping two-RBI doubles. Podratz also had a solid night for the Rainbows, batting 1-3 with two runs and two RBI.
3,959 tickets were issued for tonight's contest, with a turnstile count of 2,855.
First of pitch of the series finale on Saturday is set for 6:35 p.m.
-UH-
