HONOLULU – The University of Hawai`i Rainbow baseball team (26-20, 9-10 WAC) fell to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (26-18, 11-9) 8-4 in front of a crowd of 2,922 at Les Murakami Stadium Sunday. Josh Slaats (2-2) took the loss in relief while Mike Jefferson (2-2) picked up the win for the Bulldogs. Jamelle Clements retired the final batter to earn the save.

 

Vinnie Caticala went 3-for-4 with to runs to lead the way for UH. Ryan Morford went 2-for-3 with a home run while Christian Johnson was 1-for-2 with two RBI, two runs and a homer. Landon Hernandez added a 2-for-4 performance with a double.

 

Louisiana Tech drew first blood, scoring a run in the top of the first on a solo homer by Kevin Winn.

 

Morford quickly tied the game, hitting a lead-off home run to left. Kolten Wong drove in Catricala later in the inning, giving UH the 2-1 edge.

 

Johnson then extended the Hawai`i lead in the bottom of the second, hitting a two-run homer to right, getting the 'Bows out to a 4-1 advantage.

 

The Bulldogs responded with a two-run inning of their own in the top of the third, only to see the Rainbows answer with two more, making it 6-3 after three innings.

 

But Tech had the answer in the top of the sixth, posting four runs on five hits to take the lead 7-6.

 

Greg Garcia tied it again, hitting a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth. UH had an opportunity to break the tie in the eighth, but left the bases loaded.

 

In the top of the ninth, Louisiana Tech scored the go-ahead run on an infield single with two outs. UH again looked to have a grand opportunity in the bottom of the ninth, putting runners on second and third with just one out. But the Tech relievers had two timely strikeouts to end the game 8-7.

 

The Rainbows will now head on the road for a mid-week game at Saint Mary's before their final WAC series of the season, at Fresno State.

 

-UH-