PORTLAND, Ore. – On a pinch-hit solo home run by Christian Johnson in the 12th inning, the University of Hawai`i Rainbow baseball team (13-7) won the Rose City Baseball Invitational championship, beating the Portland Pilots (13-9) 9-8 at PGE Park Sunday. Lenny Linsky (1-0) got the win, pitching 3.0 scoreless innings. Zach Varce (1-4) took the loss for UP.

 

Jeffrey Van Doornum led UH, going 2-for-4 with two RBI, two runs and two walks. Vinnie Catricala added a 2-for-6 game with two runs and a double while Kevin Macdonald went 2-for-6 with a double and a run. Kolten Wong was 2-for-5 with one RBI and a stolen base with Landon Hernandez finishing with a home run, two RBI and two runs.

 

Portland started off the game the same way they started their win over the Rainbows on Friday, scoring two early runs in the first inning. Hernandez responded with a solo home run in the top of the second inning before the Pilots scored another run in the bottom of the third, making it 3-1.

 

But Hawai`i got it going in the fourth. After Matt Roquemore drove in a run, then Van Doornum hit a two-run single, giving the 'Bows their first lead of the game. Sean Montplaisir and Ryan Morford also drove in fourth inning runs, giving UH five runs in the inning to push the lead to 6-3.

 

That lead didn't last long as Portland answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, tying the score at 6-6. Hernandez drove in another run in the fifth to give Hawai`i back the lead, only to see the Pilots score in the bottom of the inning, tying it again at 7-7.

 

The Rainbows retook the lead in the sixth as Wong drove in Van Doornum. But Portland again had the answer, tying the score at 8-8 with a run in the seventh.

 

Then the relief pitchers took over. Jesse Moore pitched 1-2-3 innings in the eighth and ninth innings, capping a great 5.0-inning outing, striking out six, allowing just one run on three hits.

 

The game stayed at 8-8 until the top of the 12th. With one out, Johnson hit a solo homer down the right line, pushing the Rainbows to a 9-8 advantage. The Pilots led off the bottom of the 12th with a single. But Linsky then recorded three-straight outs, giving UH the victory and the invitational championship.

 

UH will stay in Oregon for one more game, playing at Oregon State tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. (1 p.m. HT), before returning to the islands for a four-game series with Coastal Carolina from Thursday, March 26, through Saturday, March 28.