Box Score

HONOLULU - The University of Hawai`i Rainbow baseball team (10-2) edged the No. 24 Southern California Trojans (7-6) 4-3 in front of a season-high crowd of 3,433 at the Les Murakami Stadium Friday. Steven Wright (3-0) struck out nine in 6.2 innings to get the victory over the much-heralded USC starter Ian Kennedy (2-2). Darrell Fisherbaugh pitched in the ninth inning to earn his third save of the season.

Jorge Franco came up big, going 2-for-2 with a double and one RBI. Joseph Spiers added a 2-for-3 game with a run and a stolen base while Jonathan Hee was 1-for-1 with two runs scored. Richard Olsen pitched well in relief, allowing just one hit in 1.2 innings.

With both starting pitchers coming off one-hit performances in their last outings, both teams knew that runs would be at a luxury. Hawai`i struck first as Franco doubled in Hee in the second inning to put the 'Bows on the board.

But USC answered with a two-run double by Baron Frost, giving the Trojans a 2-1 lead. The Rainbows tied it in the third as Derek DuPree hit a RBI-double down the leftfield line, tying it at 2-2.

After allowing another USC run in the fifth, UH came up big in the bottom of the sixth. Luis Avila doubled to lead off the inning, then scored on a Trojan error. Esteban Lopez later drove in Hee to give Hawai`i the 4-3 edge.

From there, the Hawai`i pitching staff took over, as the threesome of Wright, Olsen and Fisherbaugh combined for 11 strikeouts with just one walk, preserving the Rainbow victory.

The two teams continue their series tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. at the Les Murakami Stadium. Ian Harrington (1-1) will pitch for UH against USC's Ryan Cook (0-1).

-UH-