HONOLULU – On the strength of a 10-run fifth inning, the University of Hawai`i Rainbow baseball team (5-6) beat the No. 26 Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-3) 10-5 in front of a crowd of 2,418 at Les Murakami Stadium Saturday. Harrison Kuroda (2-0) picked up the win for UH while Justin Bussey (1-1) got the loss for MSU.

 

Kevin Macdonald led the way for UH, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, a run and a double. Vinnie Catricala and Kolten Wong both went 2-for-4 with two RBI, two runs and a double while Greg Garcia was 2-for-5 with two runs. Landon Hernandez added a 2-for-5 game with a run. Jared Alexander again pitched well, allowing just two hits and no runs while striking out five in 4.0 innings. Connor Little also pitched well, striking out seven in 2.2 innings to close the game.

 

Mississippi State broke four scoreless innings as Luke Adkins hit a grand slam to right-center, giving the Bulldogs a 4-0 lead.

 

But Hawai`i answered right away in the bottom of the inning. After singles by Garcia and Wong, Catricala doubled them in. Jeffrey Van Doornum then added a two-run single to tie the game before the flood gates opened. Josh Chevalier singled in a run, with Wong driving in two more before Macdonald capped the inning with a three-run triple to end the 10-run inning.

 

The 10-run inning in the bottom of the fifth tied for the most runs scored by the Rainbows in a fifth inning. UH also put up 10 runs in the fifth inning vs. U.S. International in 1982. The record for runs in any inning is 12, coming vs. Murray State in 1985.

 

The Bulldogs got another run in the seventh, but it wasn't enough as UH closed out the 10-5 victory.

 

The two teams close out the series tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. at Les Murakami Stadium.