Box Score Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. – After enduring a pair of road cancellations, the University of Hawai'i baseball team retook the field but were unable to produce a victory Friday night, falling to Gonzaga University, 4-1, at Patterson Baseball Complex. The Rainbows drop their road opener to fall to 14-8 while the Bulldogs improve to 13-6.

Pi'ikea Kitamura brought his hot hitting with him across the Pacific, recording a team-high three hits in the loss. Breland Almadova recorded a pair of hits, and Cody Clark added one hit and one RBI.

Marco Gonzales did the damage for the Bulldogs. He hit 3-4 with two runs and one RBI, including a solo homerun in the third inning.

The Bulldogs jumped on the Rainbows early with a pair of first-inning runs. Back-to-back doubles by Gonzales and Clayton Eslick (1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI), coupled by an RBI base hit by Royce Bolinger (2-4, 1 RBI) helped Gonzaga to an early 2-0 lead.

Gonzaga added one run each in the third and fifth innings to increase the lead to 4-0, but the 'Bows remained in striking distance heading into the later innings, finally getting on the scoreboard with a run in the seventh inning. After Kaeo Aliviado (1 R) reach base on a fielders choice, Clark slapped a double to right field to score Aliviado from first. That would be the only run for the 'Bows on the evening though, as the Bulldogs held on for the win.

Matt Sisto (4-2) was tagged with the loss, pitching into the seventh inning before being relieved by Lawrence Chew. Sisto allowed four runs on 10 hits in 6.1 innings of work. Tyler Olsen (3-0) threw seven complete innings for the win, allowing one run on eight hits with six strikeouts.

The Rainbows and Bulldogs continue their series with a Saturday doubleheader. First pitch at Patterson Baseball Complex is set for 1:00 p.m. PT.





                                                                                                -UH-